The rights of children arriving in Europe.

The Lancet is wrong to suggest that the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has not advocated on behalf of children caught up in the refugee crisis (Editorial, Sept 12). We have welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to accept more refugees, but have also urged the leadership not to play politics with the world’s most vulnerable infants, children, and young people. The UK should lead the international community in ensuring that children of all ages, exposed to appalling risks as they fl ee their homes, are provided with safe passage, health care, social support, and protection against exploitation, and should do the utmost to prevent separation from their families. Half the world’s forcibly displaced people are younger than 18 years; 7600 unaccompanied children arrived in Italy this year. The tragic death of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi epitomises their unacceptable suffering. The RCPCH has made clear our disappointment at continuing reluctance by the UK Government to make a categorical commitment to protect aff ected children. The choice for the UK and Europe is stark. Either we fail to support these vulnerable children and, in so doing, severely compromise their ability to adapt and integrate into their adoptive societies, rendering them more susceptible to radicalisation, or we act with humanity and create a new generation of young people with the kinds of hopes, aspirations, and abilities that Europe’s economies so desperately need. Children are children, wherever they happen to be. It is simply unacceptable to duck the moral responsibility to protect them.