Abstract: Refugee crisis in Africa is assuming a new dimension. Parent refugees and other adults are subjecting African children refugees, who constitute approximately half of people living in emergency conditions, to economic exploitation. The plight of children refugees, apart from being a disastrous setback for international humanitarian laws, is also a pointer to the paying of lip service in Africa to child rights and the child as zone of peace. It equally amplifies the gap between theory and practice of international humanitarian measures for child rights generally. The problematic concerns, therefore, are: what is the impetus for children refugees` economic exploitation? What are the conditions of refugees` camps? In other words, what makes street life more attractive to refugees than camp life? What hazards are children refugees exposed to as effects of their exploited street life? What are the basic international humanitarian instruments protecting children refugees? Lastly, what challenges do the illegal exploitation and violation of the rights of children refugees pose to children refugees` advocacy? The study`s findings reveal that child refugee exploitation as a new phase in African refugee crisis is a function of the region`s deepening economic crisis and therefore, the syndrome has a direct correlation with the struggle for survival in the continent.