29
September
2023

The Russian aggression against Ukraine – Displaced children finding protection in the EU - Bulletin 3

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine posed new challenges for the EU. Millions were forced to flee the war. As a result of the scale of people’s displacement, the EU activated for the first time the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD). More than 1.3 million children sought international protection in the EU. This bulletin explores the respect, protection and fulfilment of the fundamental rights of displaced children and ways to safeguard their rights. The third in a series, this bulletin builds on the evidence in FRA’s Bulletin #1 and #2 on the experiences of displaced people seeking safety in the EU.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused millions of people to be displaced from their homes and flee Ukraine. The European Union showed solidarity and reacted quickly. It activated the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) (2001/55/EC) for the first time in the EU’s history. Allowing people fleeing Ukraine to stay temporarily in the EU, the Directive also entitles them to legal residence and access to work, housing, social assistance, education and healthcare.

Public support for the EU to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian people remains very high, despite the challenges that can arise in integrating large numbers of refugees into communities. 88% of EU citizens surveyed are in favour of providing humanitarian support to the people affected by the war and 86% are in favour of welcoming into the EU people fleeing the war, according to a Eurobarometer survey conducted in June 2023.

By the end of June 2023, over 4 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine had received temporary protection status in EU countries. One third (34.6%) or more than 1.3 million are children, according to Eurostat data illustrated in Figure 1. Out of the total, around 681,000 are boys and around 652,00 are girls. More than 1 million children are below the age of 14 years.

However, beyond the Eurostat data – which also lacks data from some Member States – there is no comprehensive data on the number of children displaced from Ukraine in the EU. Not all EU Member States provide updated statistics to Eurostat, and data collected in the context of this research revealed – in some cases – considerable differences (see Annex 1). Lack of comprehensive data is also the case for children in particularly vulnerable situations, such as children who arrived unaccompanied. For example, Eurostat data presents information from only 13 Member States referring to 7,695 unaccompanied children granted temporary protection (see Figure 5). The national data on unaccompanied children FRA obtained for this report cover 25 Member States (see Annex 2) and even if collected at different periods and for different purposes, the data indicate an estimated number three times higher (over 20,000 unaccompanied children). See Chapter 2.2.

 

Figure 1 – Number of children (0 to 18 years.) who are beneficiaries of temporary protection in EU Member States, as of June 2023

 

A screenshot of a graph

Description automatically generated

A horizontal bar chart shows that three Member States have the largest number of children who are beneficiaries of temporary protection: Poland (430,165), Germany (358,315) and Czechia (95,685). This is almost two thirds of the total 1,3 million children in the EU granted temporary protection.

Source:Eurostat, data extracted on 14 September 2023.

All children, regardless of nationality or legal status, are entitled to the respect, protection and fulfilment of their human rights. Under Article 24 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights “children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being” and “in all actions relating to children […] the child's best interests must be a primary consideration”. EU institutions and EU Member States are bound by the Charter (Article 51), when implementing EU law, including the TPD.

In addition to the Charter, several international legal instruments on child rights and cross-border cooperation establish the governing legal framework for children displaced from Ukraine in the EU.

All EU Member States and Ukraine have ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The EU also acceded to the CRPD in 2010. The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Geneva Convention) and relevant asylum-acquis Directives are also relevant. Furthermore, two legal instruments on cross-border cooperation came to the forefront of authorities’ response to the large number of refugees: the Brussels IIb Regulation and the 1996 Hague Convention on Child Protection.

Other relevant EU instruments include the EU Victims' Rights Directive (2012/29/EU), the EU Directive on combating child sexual abuse (2011/93/EU), the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings (2011/36/EU) and the Council of Europe Convention on violence against women (Istanbul Convention). All EU Member States have ratified the Convention, except Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia.

Terminology

An ‘unaccompanied child’ is a child who arrives unaccompanied by an adult responsible for them whether by law or custom (Article 2 (f), TPD). A ‘separated child’ is a child who is accompanied by relatives or known (non-related) adults.

In the context of Ukraine, there are two additional categories of children:

  • children from Ukrainian institutions, who often arrive in the EU in groups accompanied by a guardian appointed by the competent Ukrainian authorities;
  • children who arrive in the EU accompanied by a guardian appointed by the competent Ukrainian authorities.

Source: European Commission (2022), Unaccompanied and separated children fleeing from war in Ukraine – FAQs on registration, reception and care.

Unaccompanied children who had been living in institutions for the care of children emerged as concern, sparking fear that long obsolete institutions were re-opening across the EU. This stemmed from the Ukrainian authorities request that Member States preserve the unity of the groups of children coming from institutions. In response, the European Commission stressed the importance of ensuring “a high standard of reception and care in a deinstitutionalised environment, so that children are hosted in line with EU standards of community and family-based care” and in line with EU and Member States’ obligations under the CRPD.

The bulletin is the third in a series of FRA publications on fundamental rights implications within the EU following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bulletin #1, published on 19 May 2022, captures the fundamental rights challenges arising during the first weeks of Russia’s invasion bordering countries (Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia). Bulletin #2 followed in October 2022, covering all EU Member States and examined developments as Member States began implementing longer-term solutions, including issues relating to the protection of unaccompanied children and access to guardianship.

FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2023 addressed fundamental rights implications for the EU of the war in Ukraine. Underscoring the need for effective long-term measures, it included opinions from FRA on how countries could move from short-term fixes to more durable solutions.

A selection of FRA opinions

  • EU Member States should verify that private housing is affordable, safe and suitable, particularly for women and children.
  • EU Member States should strengthen efforts to ensure displaced children from Ukraine are integrated in ordinary schools and childcare facilities as early as possible with due consideration for their language and culture.
  • Particular attention should be paid to children with disabilities, notably those who were living in institutional facilities in Ukraine, to ensure that their specific needs for accessibility and additional support are duly addressed. This integration would facilitate their socialisation and add normalcy to their daily lives.
  • National and EU funding should be used to provide language classes [in ordinary schools across the EU Member States], to increase numbers of staff and to increase childcare and school capacities.

Source: FRA (2023), Fundamental Rights report – 2023 ‘Fundamental rights implications for the EU of the war in Ukraine’.

This bulletin focusses on children displaced from Ukraine in the EU and examines issues of particular concern for the respect, protection and fulfilment of their fundamental rights.

Chapter 1 provides a short summary of the interplay of relevant and applicable European and international legal instruments in the context of children displaced from Ukraine and sets out national legal and policy frameworks in place. It also looks at existing targeted budget allocation, and if children displaced from Ukraine are covered by national action plans for the implementation of the EU Child Guarantee.

Chapter 2 examines the existing registration systems as well as gaps in the availability of comprehensive data concerning children displaced from Ukraine in the EU.

Chapter 3 presents national efforts to provide child-friendly and age-appropriate information and to promote the right of children to participate.

Chapter 4 explores the evidence on children’s access to rights guaranteed by the Temporary Protection Directive, including access to education, healthcare and mental health services.

Chapter 5 examines the responsibilities assigned to national child protection authorities, as well as practical arrangements of legal guardianship and placement for unaccompanied children.

Chapter 6 presents findings related to children evacuated from Ukrainian institutions in selected EU Member States, children with disabilities and their protection and care, and outlines efforts for prevention of trafficking in human beings and prevention of illegal adoption.

This bulletin looks at the situation of children since the first arrivals began in February 2022. The data covers all 27 EU Member States and was collected between June and July 2023 by FRA’s multidisciplinary research network, Franet. The bulletin also draws on evidence from FRA’s Bulletin #2, FRA’s survey on the experience of displaced persons from Ukraine in the EU and other relevant national and international research. 

Note on sources

This bulletin uses some sources available in the public domain. Where relevant, references are provided by hyperlinks embedded in the text.

Much of the data comes from email exchanges and interviews between FRA’s Franet research network and ministries, public authorities, CSOs and others. References are provided in footnotes and full references can be found in the respective Franet country reports.

Some Member States received more Ukrainian children than others, for example, neighbouring countries and those closer to the border of Ukraine. Therefore, the situation in these countries is examined in more detail and additional information was collected for this report. The information presented in Chapters 3, 4 and 6.3 draws mainly on data gathered in 14 Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia. The information presented in the rest of the bulletin covers all Member States.