Children in particularly vulnerable situation are entitled to special protection. It is important to assess the different needs, and to take preventive and protective measures. For children displaced from Ukraine, it includes children evacuated from Ukrainian institutions, children with disabilities and children at risk of becoming victims of crime.
According to the CRC, State Parties have a duty to provide support to the parents to assist them in their parental responsibilities (Article 18) and if they are unable to look after them, the child has a right to special protection and assistance (Article 20).
By ratifying the CRPD, the EU, all 27 Member States and Ukraine have committed to realising the right of children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children (Article 7) and the respect of children with disabilities’ right to family life and care within the community in a family setting (Article 23 (5)).
In times of conflict, children are exposed to particular and heightened risks. They may go missing or fall victim to crimes, including trafficking, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation. Targeted measures are needed from the moment of first arrival and early identification of risks through ensuring proper referral to specialised services and continuous support to victims by appropriate and accessible services.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reports speak of up to 120,000 children living in over 700 institutions across Ukraine. These figures include children with a physical or intellectual disability, orphans or children whose parents had lost parental authority, and also children who were deemed to be academically gifted and were sent to receive enhanced education. Many of the children residing in the institutions maintained close relationships with their parents, who, for one reason or another, were not in position to care for the children or to provide the level of support required.
Despite action by the Ukrainian government, including the launch of a 10-year deinstitutionalisation plan,[42] Ukraine, Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On approval of the state target social program of reforming the system of institutions for orphan children and children deprived of parental care” (2007), dated October 17, 2007. No. 1242 Ukraine is the country with the highest number of institutionalised children in Europe, with the exception of Russia.
Many children returned to their parents or relatives from the institutions in the days and weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but, according to the European Commission, over 3,000 were evacuated in groups to Member States, through bilateral agreements between respective authorities or through private initiatives.
Of the 27 EU Member States, nine countries reported through Franet that they have not received any children evacuated from Ukrainian institutions, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal. Others do not collect or disaggregate data according to this category of children. For example, the directorate of Immigration in Luxembourg could not confirm if there were any arrivals of children evacuated from institutions, as it only disaggregates statistics related to unaccompanied and separated children.[43] Luxembourg, information provided by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Directorate of immigration by email on 11/7/2023. The Directorate of immigration (Direction de l'immigration) only disaggregates statistics between unaccompanied children and children accompanied by the parents or another responsible adult. Please see Franet national reports for more information.
Although there are no data available on the total number of children evacuated, but the figure is likely much higher than 3,000. Poland alone suggested having received 3,000 children. A report from the European Disability Forum claims the number of children from institutions arriving in the EU could be more than 4,200.
Many of the children evacuated at the beginning of the war may have since returned to Ukraine. For example, Lithuania recorded the arrival of 375 children from Ukrainian institutions and the subsequent departure of 267 of them. In Czechia, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport also noted that children have since left the country. It is not known, however, whether the reason children leave is to travel home to Ukraine, or onwards to other countries.[44] Czechia, Email communication between Czechia Franet partner and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on 11 June 2023.
Other Member States had initiated discussions with Ukraine regarding receiving groups of children from institutions, although these did not materialise. Finland had been preparing to receive up to 100 children from one Ukrainian institution, however, the request was subsequently withdrawn by Ukrainian authorities.
Article 16(2) of the TPD outlines the type of placements that unaccompanied children should be offered, see Legal corner: Placement of unaccompanied minors (Article 16 (2), TPD).
Most children evacuated from Ukrainian institutions were placed with the person who looked after the children when fleeing, and accommodated in reception centres or facilities which were quickly opened and adapted such as hotels or sports facilities. This was mainly due to the explicit request from Ukrainian authorities that groups of children from institutions were not to be separated. The accommodation of large groups of children resulted in lower standards of care, which received criticism from civil society. This led to different agreements and frameworks in Member States between ministries of the hosting Member State and the Ukrainian ministries. This was particularly the case of Poland and Lithuania that signed agreements with specifications regarding the protection of children fleeing from Ukraine.
In Poland, a political declaration on the social protection of children affected by warfare and armed conflict was signed by the Polish Minister of Family and Social Policy and the Ukrainian Minister of Social Policy in June 2022. It established measures for the return of the children to Ukraine after the end of the war and measures to maintain close contact between children evacuated from the same institution. It also provided for the possibility that an administrative district in Poland can issue a permit for running a care and educational institution for children who are citizens of Ukraine. This agreement granted permission for care and educational institutions which would otherwise most likely not have met the standards set out in Polish residential care law and policies.
Lithuania and Ukraine entered into a cooperation agreement in April 2022 that outlined specific responsibilities related to care and guardianship and enshrined the commitment of Lithuania to keep groups of children together, unless doing so conflicted with the best interests of the child. Consequently, Lithuania amended the Law on Social Services to reduce the licencing requirements for institutions providing childcare. It also set out a simplified procedure for establishing social care centres for unaccompanied children and foreign children left without parental care from states where a humanitarian crisis has occurred.[45] Lithuania, Seimas (2022). Law on the Amendment of Articles 2,23, 24 and 24 of the Law on Social Services No. X-493, No. XIV-952, 17 March 2022.
These agreements and informal arrangements resulted in a situation where children were placed together in large facilities, which did not align with UN and EU standards advocating for small-scale facilities, more suitable care setting. As a result, some facilities were not adequate for the care of children and children with disabilities.
For example, in Poland a group of 700 children and caregivers from several institutions are living in an isolated hotel complex outside Warsaw. However, the European Commission is working with Polish and Ukrainian authorities for the transfer of the children to more appropriate accommodation.
Almost all of Lithuania’s former institutions had been closed in recent years, as they moved children in need of care into family-style settings. However, with the large numbers of refugees arriving from Ukraine, Lithuanian authorities were forced to re-open some of these institutions and temporary facilities not suitable for childcare, such as a recreation centre, until the premises of the former care facility were prepared.[46] Lithuania, Representative of the Office of Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Child (2023), the phone call with Lithuanian Franet partner, dated 11 July 2023.
The Lithuanian Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Child expressed concerns in their annual report about the amendments made to the Law on Social Services to reduce the requirements for childcare institutions, as they may not align with the principle of the best interests of the child. The Office of the Ombudsperson found that the staff-to-child ratio in some childcare institutions did not meet social care norms, negatively impacting the fulfilment of children's needs, including emotional well-being and access to leisure and educational activities. In some cases, a single adult was responsible for overseeing between 14 and 15 children.[47] Lithuania, Representative of the Office of Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Child (2023), the phone call with Lithuanian Franet partner, dated 11 July 2023.
The Netherlands received four Ukrainian institutions in their entirety, including staff and directors.[48] Netherlands, Information provided by an official of Nidos by an email sent on 13 June 2023. 154 children are accommodated at four separate premises which were adapted to host the children: a former bank, a former police station, a former housing facility and a housing facility operated by an organisation for persons with intellectual disabilities.
Regarding Italy, the European Disability Forum reported that a group of children from an Ukrainian orphanage intended to travel and settle in Italy. The group of 93 children aged between 8 and 18 years old were evacuated from an institution in Ukraine and municipal authorities in Brescia accommodated the group in a disused hotel. In April, the Juvenile Court of Brescia, in agreement with the Prefecture of Bergamo, ruled that it was in the best interests of the children to keep them together. They took into account the fact that the legal guardianship was valid, provided by the deputy director of the Ukrainian institution who travelled to Italy with the children.[49] Il Post (2022), “L’orfanotrofio ucraino che ha cambiato un paese delle valli bergamasche”, 25 December 2022.
Civil society played an active role in coordinating the transfer and reception of these children and is still actively involved. For example, in Austria, the NGO kleine Herzen hosted a group of 61 children aged between 1 and 6 and their 35 accompanying carers. In Romania, the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation supported groups of children and provided financial, logistical and human resources. In France, the NGO Friends of Rivne, (l’Association des amis de Rivné), who had previously supported children affected from the Chernobyl nuclear accident, were involved in the evacuation and hosting of 53 children.[50] France, the information provided by the representative of the Consulate of Ukraine in France via phone interview on July 5, 2023.
Member States have an obligation under Article 3(3) CRC to “ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.” The standards and the situation of children within care and institutional-type facilities should be monitored by child protection authorities on a regular basis, to prevent any incidence of neglect or abuse, as established by the UN guidelines on alternative care. It is also important to pay attention to the particular situation of children with disabilities, who are more vulnerable to violence and abuse, as observed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and as highlighted in FRA research on violence against children with disabilities. In some Member States, human rights bodies carried out monitoring activities in addition to child protection authorities, for example the Ombudsperson for Children in Croatia and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights in Lithuania who criticised the conditions of care in institutions hosting children.
As discussed in Section 5.4, the 1996 Hague Convention on Child Protection establishes that the country of habitual residence - in this case, Ukraine - is responsible for deciding protection measures. This is no different when the children in question are children evacuated from Ukrainian institutions. However, in urgent cases and situations of risk for the child, the “contracting State in whose territory the child […] is present has jurisdiction to take any necessary measures of protection”, as established in Article 11.1. of the Convention.
Authorities in Ukraine and in some Member States formalised their intention to cooperate when risk situations arise. For example, the agreement between Ukrainian and Lithuanian authorities establishes cooperation for individual cases that may lead to violations of children’s rights and to exchange information to ensure the child’s individual needs and best interests.
In Poland, a law enacted on 12 March 2022 states that social welfare authorities should provide supervision and support to Ukrainian guardians accompanying children evacuated from institutions. However, due to a lack of guidance regarding what this supervision should look like, some of the responsibility for ensuring child protection fell to CSOs who had alerted authorities to some instances of alleged violence on the part of carers.[51] Tymińska A. (2022), Children in foster care and minors from Ukraine: ex-post evaluation of the regulation and practice of application of the Ukrainian special law, Warsaw, 2022; Covtiuh I., Khomyn Y., Strama A. (2023), Temporary care of a minor child from Ukraine. A guide for caregivers, Krakow, 2023.
In practice, the monitoring and the involvement of child protection authorities led to concrete interventions from authorities in instances where there is concern for the wellbeing of children.
In Spain, in accordance with a royal decree, the Public Protection Entity retains the right to monitor entities housing groups of children from Ukrainian institutions and to declare such entities as unsuitable if it recognises a risk to the children. Such a situation arose in Spain where the regional government in Castile and Leon Castilla y León had to assume the guardianship of 87 children, following complaints from Social Services staff and employees in the school. The children were under the guardianship of the Director of the Ukrainian institutions evacuated in April 2022.
A similar case occurred in Slovenia, where the Social Work Centre received an anonymous report of alleged violence against the children. The subsequent investigation did not result in a call for any further action. Nevertheless, for preventative reasons, the children and staff were monitored for several months following this, including receiving unannounced visits by the Social Work Centre's workers.[52] Slovenia, Information was provided by the Social Work Centre, (Primorsko-Notranjska) upon request (email, 5 July 2023).
Under Article 20(1) CRC, “a child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State”. This protection is even more pertinent for children with disabilities.
All Member States, Ukraine and the EU itself have acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and are bound to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights on equal basis with other children (Article 7(1)) and the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict (Article 11) and the respect of children with disabilities’ right to family life and care within the community in a family setting (Article 23 (5)). Here again, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
Specific measures to ensure the fundamental rights protection of children with disabilities fleeing Ukraine were found in some Member States.
In several Member States, benefits and allowances that apply to disabled citizens also apply to those fleeing Ukraine – including children – who have disabilities. For example, in Cyprus, people with disabilities, including children fleeing the war in Ukraine are eligible for the same disability benefits as Cypriot residents with disabilities. Also in Hungary, children with disabilities from Ukraine have access to a so-called pedagogical service.[53] Hungary, according to article 3 of Gov. Decree 106/2022. (III. 12) children concerned are entitled to use the services of day-care centres, nursery care, education, care and the services of the "Sure Start Children's Home" under the same conditions as Hungarian citizens. The pedagogical service consists of a group of experts who assess the child’s developmental stage and needs in a procedure upon request by the parents. In complex disability cases the child can be referred to a special educational institution.
However, children with disabilities were not offered the same protections everywhere. In Bulgaria, for example, children with disabilities granted temporary protection are not covered by and do not have access to financial support provided for in the Family Benefits for Children Act, with the exception of medical equipment. According to the Bulgarian Ombudsman, the international protection procedure is preferable as it would give them more rights to access the national health, education and social systems.
Some Member States set out specific measures targeted at children with disabilities displaced from Ukraine, and their families, that were often connected to financial benefits. In Slovakia, children with disabilities receive a monthly benefit which is adjusted according to the severity of the disability. In Czechia, UNICEF and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs launched a financial benefit for children with disabilities, which targets exclusively Ukrainian refugees with temporary protection. The applicant must hold a valid Ukrainian Disabled Child's Card and a valid accompanying medical certificate which is provided when obtaining the temporary protection visa issued by the Czech authorities. If the child does not have a valid Ukrainian Disabled Child's Card and a valid accompanying certificate, the programme provides a medical disability assessment by a doctor. In Poland, families with children with disabilities have a lower threshold for receiving family allowance.
Some Member States set out specific measures related to their accommodation. In Malmo, Sweden, for example, local authorities adapted apartments for children with disabilities. However, although Croatia provided some collective accommodation, difficulties connected to this were reported in relation to children with developmental difficulties and disabilities.[54] Croatia, information provided by the Ombudsperson for Children, 20 June 2023.
Some Member States provided access to therapy. In Malta, children with disabilities may attend a weekly multisensory room session, along with hydrotherapy and swimming lessons, as part of a scheme established by the Inspire Foundation.[55] Malta, Information Request, Inspire Foundation, 1 August 2022.
In some Member States, there were targeted efforts to ensure information about support reached families with children with disabilities. Efforts to ensure accessibility of the information, in line with Articles 9 and 21 of the CRPD, were also found. In Slovakia, for example, a website details information on temporary protection; carer’s benefits and available support for children with disabilities; medical and early childhood intervention centres, as well as sport training provided by the Special Olympics organisation. In Belgium, a disability organisation produced bilingual flashcards for Ukrainian children with autism or communication difficulties to facilitate communication, available in Ukrainian with German, French and Dutch translations.
Children with disabilities also experienced challenges related to certification. Several reports were received of children with disabilities facing non-recognition of their medical diagnoses or disability certification. A further challenge was having to ensure these documents have been translated and, sometimes, notarised by the authorities in the receiving Member State. In Poland, certification for accessing special education issued in Ukraine is not accepted and other medical documentation requires a sworn translation into Polish. Translation of relevant documents is also required in Slovenia.[56] Information was provided by the Legal centre for the protection of human rights and environment upon request (interview, 9 June 2023).
Disability recognition documents issued in Ukraine are not valid in Bulgaria. Therefore, people with disabilities from Ukraine must go through the entire disability assessment procedure in Bulgaria that includes some expensive medical tests to access the social system. It was reported that volunteers often advise people with severe disabilities to go to other countries with better healthcare arrangements.
Similarly, in Finland, assessments or certificates issued in Ukraine are not necessarily automatically accepted in Finland. To gain access to support services, a disability or reduced functional ability must be assessed by a Finnish physician.[57] Finland, Information obtained from Vammaisten maahanmuuttajien tukikeskus HILMA (Support centre for immigrants with disabilities or long-term illnesses) via email on 31 May 2023.
In Slovakia, the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family carried out assessments of disability for children who arrived without certified documentation. This involves a more simplified assessment, the ‘12-question assessment tool, which has been welcomed by the Platform of Families of Children with Disabilities, who see it as an improvement to the government’s current lengthy process for national children, which can require several doctors’ assessments.
In August 2022, UN experts expressed concern that children with disabilities would be institutionalised rather than hosted in the community, an action which is inconsistent with the requirements of Article 19 of the CRPD on living independently and being included in the community. FRA has pointed out to the existing challenges in Member States’ efforts to de-institutionalise persons with disabilities. The CRPD Committee has emphasised the importance of continued deinstitutionalisation, even in emergency situations, in its guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies.
Some Member States had established specific procedures to ensure the appropriate reception of children with disabilities evacuated from Ukraine. For example, in Germany, the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health established a federal point of contact (Bundeskontaktstelle) in May 2022, which is operated by the German Red Cross. The federal point of contact is not responsible for centralising information on all cases in Germany; it only gathers information of those individuals who turn to it, get registered and are then referred to appropriate accommodation. The majority are adults with special needs. However, the federal point of contact has also been involved some cases of institutions for children with disabilities and ensured proper referrals.[58] Germany, German Red Cross’ Bundeskontaktstelle, Email contribution to the German Institute for Human Rights, 6 July 2023.
Similarly, in the Netherlands, children with disabilities who arrive are referred to a youth protection agency, the William Schrikker Foundation, that works with children with disabilities.
In analysing the situation of children evacuated from institutions, and in particular those with disabilities, it is important to assess whether they have appropriate access to services and support in the community. This is required under Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which provides for “the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community”; as well as other obligations prescribed in the CRC (Article 23(1)) and the UN CRPD (Article 19). Ensuring that children who are kept together in large groups or an institutional setting can engage with the local community, and access local services, is crucial to their well-being and development.
Very few initiatives to meet this requirement were found in the countries that reported hosting such groups of children. This includes access to education, healthcare, psychosocial attention, and legal advice. In some Member States such as Greece and the Netherlands, facilities were equipped to provide access, including transport, to many or all of these services which are often found in local communities.
In times of conflict, children, especially those unaccompanied and separated, are particularly vulnerable. They may go missing or fall victim to crimes, including trafficking, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation. The Memorandum of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights consequences of the war in Ukraine calls for better identification and registration of unaccompanied and separated children, family tracing and reunification procedures, and acknowledges that the displacement resulted in a heightened risk of human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse. The Operational Guidance on the application of the TPDalso stresses “the need to ensure that the basic guarantees and safeguards for unaccompanied children are respected and therefore their protection is fully ensured”. In all decisions and actions concerning children, the best interests of the child should be the primary consideration, consistent with the terms of Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The EU recently acceded to the Council of Europe Convention on violence against women (Istanbul Convention), which is relevant for the prevention of violence against girls, including domestic and sexual violence.
“The European Parliament […] calls on EU countries to address the specific needs of women and girls in reception centres and to ensure that gender-based violence services and referral pathways and complaints mechanisms are immediately available within communities in languages and formats accessible to all groups.”
European Parliament resolution on the impact of the war against Ukraine on women, 5 May 2022, para. 6.
The Victims’ Rights Directive makes specific reference to protection of child victims and serves as a framework to develop particular measures to provide support for child victims of crime (Article 23 and 24). Also relevant is EU legislation on the protection and support for victims of trafficking in human beings and child victims of sexual exploitation and child pornography. These Directives are applicable no matter the nationality or residence status of the child. The European Commission has proposed a new directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (March 2023) and amendments to the Victim’s Rights Directive (July 2023).
Although outside EU territory, it is also important to note the allegations of forced transfers and deportations of children within and outside of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has identified over 19,000 children unlawfully deported or otherwise separated from their parents or guardians. The UN has documented cases of children subjected to forced transfers, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, in connection with possible war crimes concerning the deportation and ‘illegal transfer’ of children from occupied Ukraine. Lithuania’s Prosecutor General has opened an investigation into the alleged criminal transfer of Ukrainian children from Ukraine to Belarus.
The European Commission’s operational guidelines for implementation of the TPD “strongly encouraged [Member States] to put in place adequate prevention measures specifically targeting persons fleeing Ukraine. These may include providing information on the risks of trafficking, in a language that persons fleeing Ukraine are able to understand and, for the cases of unaccompanied children, in a child-friendly and age-appropriate manner […]. Such information should be also available online and contain the number of an emergency hotline that could be contacted in multiple languages on 24/7.”
The EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator presented the Anti-Trafficking Plan to protect people fleeing the war in Ukraine in May 2022, which builds on the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings and the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive (2011/36/EU). The Plan also includes specific recommendations for Member States for protecting children from trafficking and reporting cases of missing children through better use of international and national databases including the Schengen Information System (SIS), Interpol’s database and Europol’s database. Beyond this, the European Commission provides information on how each EU country tackles, prevents, and identifies trafficking in human beings, as well as the contact details of national authorities and other relevant organisations working in this field.
FRA activity box – Survey on violence against women fleeing Ukraine
FRA is collecting data on the experiences of women fleeing the war in Ukraine with respect to violence, and other human rights abuses, relating to the war. The survey questionnaire will include questions related to the experiences and the situation of their children. The data collection will take place in three EU Member States: Czechia, Germany and Poland.
Ukrainians have been recorded as trafficked both domestically and internationally for many years according to the UN. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many and CSOs have warned about the dangers children may confront when fleeing the country, including trafficking, sexual exploitation, abduction and illegal adoption. International organisations have also warned about the risks. It became apparent that there was a need to adopt public policy measures to address the situation of boys and girls who may be at risk of violence and crime and facilitate their access to specialised care and protection services. Measures need to consider the specific needs of girls and boys among the group of children arriving from Ukraine. They should also consider specific risks, for example, for boys becoming victims of labour exploitation or girls becoming victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The European Commission is working closely with the Ukrainian authorities on how best to assist them and Ukrainian parents or legal guardians with tracing missing children, while maintaining full respect of the EU data protection legislation and of the rights of the children.
The platform Missing Children Europe set up a dedicated Ukraine helpdesk providing information in Ukrainian and Russian on reporting missing children. It includes links to available services in the different neighbouring countries and posters of missing children from Ukraine suspected to be in the EU.
Some Member States also launched initiatives to prevent children from Ukraine going missing and protect them from harm. In Estonia, the Red Cross produced a website to provide information to families who are searching misplaced or missing children. In Italy, the Deputy Commissioner created guidelines to protect Ukrainian unaccompanied children and set up an operating procedure for tracing children in case of disappearance.
Some Member States developed laws or policies that address crime prevention and victim support, including for children. For example, in Spain, the Royal Decree Law 6/2022 establishes protection measures for particularly vulnerable groups, including children victims of gender-based violence, victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in the context of the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. The Decree also guarantees access to care services and to the minimum wage for displaced people victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. In Poland, the Ministry of Interior and Administration developed guidelines for the prevention of trafficking targeted at guardians of unaccompanied children fleeing Ukraine.
In Slovakia, the Contingency Plan for dealing with the emergency situation related to the mass arrival of people from Ukraine includes specific measures to prevent human trafficking. These measures include training border police officers to detect victims and distributing of information materials in Ukrainian to victims of trafficking. The Romanian National Action Plan on the prevention of exploitation, sexual abuse and the risks associated with trafficking in human beings, sets out specific measures addressing children fleeing Ukraine. The National Action Plan for Children's Rights 2022-2026 in Luxembourg, also includes actions to prevent child trafficking specifically addressing the increased risk children displaced from Ukraine face.
Promising practice – A guide for displaced people to stay protected online in Hungary
In the context of the displacement of thousands of people from Ukraine, UNHCR Hungary has developed a guide for parents and young people. The guide provides practical information of threats when browsing for jobs or accommodation online, and when using social media. UNHCR also organised workshops for children and young people.
Many Member States launched information campaigns to tackle the risk of crimes, and more specifically, the risk of trafficking. They were often run by CSOs. Information campaigns included distributing leaflets and posters at border crossing points, train stations, airports, and in registration centres and shelters. The information was translated into Ukrainian, English, Russian and other languages.
Counselling services through hotlines was another common measure to support children, including those who might be experiencing domestic violence. For example, in Austria, SOS Children’s Villages and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation who run a counselling hotline (Rat auf Draht 147) expanded their services and offered advice in Ukrainian and Russian from the beginning of the war until June 2023.
In Spain, the Anar Foundation has set up an online chatroom website available in Ukrainian and English, among other languages. It supports psychological care, is free, confidential and operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also provides support for parents and adults who suspect that a Ukrainian is at risk of falling victim to crime.[59] Spain, ANAR Foundation (2022) ANAR ayuda a los niños/as y adolescents ucranianos, 16 March 2022.
In Poland, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of 12 March 2022 on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine, children are entitled to therapeutic assistance. In this regard, several organizations have established special hotlines dedicated to children from Ukraine. The Dajemy Dzieciom Site Foundation runs a helpline for children and young people operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with Ukrainian available from 14:00 until midnight. It can be used by children of all ages. The Children’s Ombudsman operates another helpline and helpline and online chat room that provides counselling and psychological support to all children, including in Ukrainian and Russian.
Article 21 of the UNCRC provides for safeguards to allow inter-country adoption if the child cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin. The European Convention on the Adoption of Children (revised in 2008) and the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (The Hague on Intercountry Adoption Convention) regulate the safeguards for inter-country adoption and provide the framework for the protection of children in emergency situations. In case of an armed conflict, the focus should be on child protection measures, based on the 1996 Hague Convention Child Protection, other than adoption, as stated by the Hague Convention Bureau in relation to the conflict in Ukraine.
It is an agreed international principle that children should not be adopted during situations of war or conflict, as re-stated by the Hague Convention Bureau in the context of Ukraine. The aim is to prevent rushed decisions in emergencies that may bypass agreed standards, benefit intermediaries financially, or lead to the adoption of children who could potentially reunite with their families which is, in principle, the best setting for a child’s growth.
The Ukrainian government officially suspended child adoptions for as long the martial law is in place. In a joint CRC and UNCRPD statement, the Committees stated that they “support the effort of the Ukrainian government to ensure evacuated children do not go missing, are not adopted by persons in other countries and will return to Ukraine once the war is over.” Similarly, CSOs also called for a moratorium on inter-country adoption.
Lastly, several Member States implemented additional safeguards to prevent illegal adoption. In Poland, these precautions are outlined in a political declaration signed with Ukrainian authorities where Polish authorities commit to not accelerating ongoing adoption processes and refrain from initiating new ones. In Latvia, the adoption of unaccompanied Ukrainian children is forbidden under the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians. Similarly, in Lithuania, the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service collaborates with the police to prevent attempts by adults to bring Ukrainian children to the USA or other countries for illegal adoption. Additionally, the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service actively raises public awareness about ineligibility of children from Ukraine to be adopted or placed in permanent foster care in any circumstances.
