Migration is a constant in human history, but the number of migrants and refugees has never been higher and is increasing year by year. Among them, unaccompanied children are often overlooked. These are children who have arrived in a foreign country separated from both parents and without an adult they can trust. They represent a particularly vulnerable group. Under the law, an unaccompanied child has the right to a guardian who protects his or her rights and best interests. The Master's thesis focuses on the guardianship system for unaccompanied children in Slovenia and explores how it is experienced by unaccompanied children and their guardians and legal representatives. The theoretical part explains commonly used terms, defines theories of international migration and their characteristics, and describes the European Union's asylum policy. It also introduces unaccompanied children, highlights their vulnerability and resilience, describes their treatment and life in Slovenia, and the guardianship system. The empirical part investigates how the rights of unaccompanied children are realised and what is the role of their guardians or legal representatives in this aspect and the quality of relationship between unaccompanied children and their guardians and legal representatives. It also determines what knowledge and skills guardians and legal representatives have to perform their function, how they assess the best interests of children and what are their needs and needs of unaccompanied children. A qualitative research approach is used. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews. The sample consists of three unaccompanied children and three persons acting as guardian and/or legal representative. The data were processed using a coding procedure. The work contributes to a comprehensive presentation of how the guardianship system for unaccompanied children works in practice. The findings are important because they include the perspective of unaccompanied children as well as that of guardians and legal representatives. The work also identifies anomalies that need to be corrected and the needs of guardians and children, which are also suggestions for improving the current system.
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