A/HRC/40/CRP.1 however, disproportionately affected children who make up just over half the population of South Sudan, but represent over 60 percent of IDPs and refugees.746 Beyond being displaced, many of these children have been separated from their parents and guardians and many have had to make arduous journeys to safety unaccompanied. It is estimated that more than 15,000 unaccompanied and separated children have been displaced inside South Sudan since December 2013.747 There are an additional 50,000 unaccompanied and separated children who are refugees.748 Displaced children face a number of increased protection risks and unaccompanied and separated children are particularly vulnerable. 749 These risks include psychological distress as a result of being exposed to traumatic events and violence, recruitment into armed forces and armed groups, physical violence as community and family structures deteriorate raising the risk of domestic violence, juvenile delinquency and risky behaviour exacerbated by lack of educational opportunities, child labour and exploitation resulting from dire economic situations, and sexual and gender-based violence.750 Furthermore, it is estimated that 46 percent of street children in Juba, Torit, Bentiu, Malakal, Bor, and Wau have previously been internally displaced.751 The Commission met with 13 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 16 in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, who were, or had been, unaccompanied and separated, about half of whom had arrived in 2018.752 Some explained that their parents were still in South Sudan while others were orphaned. They stated that they were living with family members such as aunts or had been fostered. Despite difficult journeys out of South Sudan, including trips made on foot and coming under attack en-route, each nonetheless expressed aspirations for the future which centred on completing their education including becoming teachers, nurses and doctors.753 The Commission heard that women regularly arrive in refugee camps in Uganda having crossed from South Sudan with children they had found on the road to as they fled.754 These women decided to take care of these lost children and to bring them a safer place. Both the women and the unaccompanied and separated children come from different counties and even different states when they come across each other so it is not always clear from which county or state these children come. In some instances, these children recount that their parents have been killed. Of the 15,000 unaccompanied and separated children displaced within South Sudan, approximately 6,000 have been reunified since 2013.755 However, the process remains slow. For example, between January and September 2018, the ICRC reunited 47 people, including children with their families.756 The prevailing conditions including the security and access challenges combined with the sheer number of unaccompanied and separated children make family tracing difficult as a result an emphasis has been placed on foster or kinship care. Since 2017, within countries hosting South Sudanese children, there has been a focus on strengthening the capacity and mechanisms for family tracing and reunification and the restoration of family links. Indeed, UNHCR has identified these measures as one of its top three priorities in relation to South Sudanese refugees, along with improving psychosocial support to adolescents and youth and ensuring at-risk children have access to care and protection services.757 Accordingly, a roving expert on family tracing and reunification has UNHCR, Regional Update: South Sudan Situation, August 2018; Global Initiative on Out of School Children, “South Sudan Country Study”, May 2018. 747 UNICEF, Making South Sudan’s families whole again, 12 December 2018; UNHCR, South Sudan Situation: Regional Framework for the Protection of Refugee Children, February 2018-December 2019; Global Initiative on Out of School Children, “South Sudan Country Study”, May 2018. 748 UNHCR, South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan January 2019 – December 2020, 18 December 2018. 749 UNHCR, South Sudan Situation: Regional Framework for the Protection of Refugee Children, February 2018-December 2019. 750 UNHCR, South Sudan Situation: Regional Framework for the Protection of Refugee Children, February 2018-December 2019. 751 Global Initiative on Out of School Children, South Sudan Country Study, May 2018. 752 Focus group meeting with unaccompanied and separated children in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, 27 August 2018. 753 Focus group meeting with unaccompanied and separated children in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, 27 August 2018. 754 Confidential Meeting, 2 February 2019. 755 UNICEF, Making South Sudan’s families whole again, 12 December 2018. 756 ICRC, “Newsletter: South Sudan Facts and Figures January to September 2018”, 19 November 2018. 757 UNHCR, South Sudan Situation: Regional Framework for the Protection of Refugee Children, February 2018-December 2019. 746 104