Italy praised for giving lone child refugees legal protection

Country passes first law in Europe guaranteeing children travelling alone a minimum standard of care

Migrant on Italian coastguard boat
A young boy is helped to disembark from an Italian coastguard boat 
(Image credit: Giovanni Isolino / GETTY)

Italy has become Europe's first country to pass a law giving comprehensive protection to lone child migrants.

Known as the Zampa law, the legislation sets minimum standards of care, such as reducing the time children can be kept in migrant reception centres, guaranteeing access to healthcare and setting a ten-day window for authorities to confirm their identities.

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