UNICEF (1946) is the permanent fund of the United Nations with the mandate to protect and promote the rights of children and adolescents with the aim of improving their living conditions.

In Italy, the UNICEF Research Centre is located at the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence. Since 1974 the Italian Committee for UNICEF has been operating in Italy, a non-governmental organisation whose activities are regulated by a cooperation agreement signed with UNICEF International.

UNICEF has launched a wide-ranging programme in Italy in favour of migrant and refugee minors, especially those unaccompanied by adult relatives, with the aim of providing assistance measures ranging from the very first reception to transfer to smaller and more stable facilities, from the monitoring of human rights standards to educational and cultural inclusion in local communities.