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.
In view of the human rights situation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the large number of persons seeking protection in the European Union (EU), the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) dispatched, as a first step, a team composed of Agency staff who speak the national languages and with expertise on migration, child protection, equality and non-discrimination and Roma inclusion to observe and collect evidence on the evolving situation. The team reported daily to the EU mechanism for preparedness and crises management on migration (Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint).
In 2015 and 2016, the numbers of unaccompanied children arriving in Europe increased dramatically, straining national guardianship systems. This report looks at how EU Member States, as well as North Macedonia and Serbia, have adapted their guardianship systems for unaccompanied children since that time.
This report sheds light on the realities faced by unaccompanied migrant children who are not in the care of child protection systems in the EU. Presented as a case study, it tells the story of children and young adults from Pakistan who travelled alone to the EU without their parents or other adults.
The EU Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2019 its report on the ‘Integration of young refugees in the EU’. The report explored the challenges of young people who fled armed conflict or persecution and arrived in the EU in 2015 and 2016. The report is based on 426 interviews with experts working in the area of asylum and integration, as well as 163 interviews with young people, aged 16 to 24, conducted between October 2017 and June 2018 in 15 regions and cities located in six Member States: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. The links on this page provide a summary of the information collected during this period for each country about unaccompanied children turning 18 and the change in people’s legal status once international protection is granted. These two issues had at the time been identified as moments requiring sufficient, consistent and systematic support, particularly from lawyers, social workers and guardians, to ensure successful integration.
In recent years, thousands of girls and boys have reached Europe without their parents, and sought international protection. Many of them experienced violence, abuse and neglect in their home countries, and while in transit. They have the right to be protected in line with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on Human Rights, and European Union law. This report explores the challenges and good practices gathered in the implementation of such relocation programmes. Based on information FRA collected in 10 EU Member States, it aims to help national authorities to support the relocation of unaccompanied children by taking measures that are fully rights compliant and practically feasible.
Based on the lessons learned from relocation
experiences and on existing international and EU legal
standards, FRA has developed a number of practical
suggestions for the adjustment of relocation efforts to
the protection needs of unaccompanied children. This
guidance aims to be a practical tool for Member States
that wish to engage in the relocation of unaccompanied
children and in any future responsibility-sharing
mechanisms, and to gain knowledge on how this can
be done while respecting the child’s best interests.
Children in migration are more vulnerable than adults, particularly when they are unaccompanied. Their vulnerability makes them more exposed to violence, exploitation and trafficking in human beings, as well as physical, psychological and sexual abuse. This report looks into challenges to the fundamental rights of children in migration throughout 2019. It pulls together the main issues identified in FRA’s Quarterly Bulletins on migration in selected EU Member States.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) urges Member States to agree on a simple and practical workflow as soon as possible, to avoid lack of clarity and delays in the relocation process. This paper provides practical suggestions on relocation of unaccompanied children from Greece, building on lessons learned from previous mandatory and voluntary relocation schemes. The paper provides FRA input on the initiative of the European Commission and a group of Member States to relocate unaccompanied children.
Over 2.5 million people applied for international protection in the 28 EU Member States in 2015 and 2016. Many of those who were granted some form of protection are young people, who are likely to stay and settle in the EU. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights interviewed some of them, as well as professionals working with them in 15 locations across six EU Member States: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. This report presents the result of FRA’s fieldwork research, focusing on young people between the
ages of 16 and 24.
Child rights come first. Measures to ensure child protection and participation apply to all children in the EU. This brochure guides you to relevant FRA reports and tools that can support you when promoting and protecting the rights of all children in the EU.
Les droits de l’enfant sont notre priorité. Les mesures visant à garantir la protection et
la participation des enfants s’appliquent à TOUS les enfants au sein de l’UE.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on asylum and
migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation
of people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by
migration. It addresses fundamental rights concerns between 1 July and 30 September 2019.
Individuals who are not entitled to stay in the European Union are typically subject to being returned to their home countries. This includes children who are not accompanied by their parents or by another primary caregiver. But returning such children, or finding another durable solution, is a delicate matter, and doing so in full compliance with fundamental rights protections can be difficult. This focus paper therefore aims to help national authorities involved in return-related tasks, including child-protection services, to ensure full rights compliance.
Деца, лишени от родителски грижи, открити в друга държава — членка на ЕС, различна
от тяхната собствена има за цел да засили реакцията на всички съответни участници за
закрила на детето. Закрилата на тези момичета и момчета е от първостепенно значение и е
задължение за държавите — членки на ЕС, произтичащо от международната и европейската
правна рамка. Ръководството включва акцент върху децата — жертви на трафик, и децата
в риск, в изпълнение на заложеното в съобщението от 2017 г. „Засилване на действията
на ЕС срещу трафика на хора“ действие и като са взети предвид установените модели,
включително по отношение на свързаната с пола специфика на престъплението.
Cílem příručky Děti bez rodičovské péče, které se nacházejí v jiném členském státě EU než ve
svém vlastním, je zlepšit schopnost všech příslušných subjektů reagovat v zájmu ochrany dětí.
Ochrana těchto dívek a chlapců je prvořadou povinností členských států EU, která vyplývá
z mezinárodního a evropského právního rámce. Příručka se zaměřuje na dětské oběti obchodování
s lidmi a ohrožené děti, a provádí tak opatření uvedená ve sdělení z roku 2017 o posílení opatření
EU v oblasti boje proti obchodování s lidmi, přičemž zohledňuje identifikované vzorce, mimo jiné
s ohledem na genderovou specifičnost této trestné činnosti.
Der Leitfaden Kinder ohne elterliche Fürsorge, die in einem anderen EU-Mitgliedstaat als ihrem
eigenen angetroffen werden hat das Ziel, die Handlungsfähigkeit aller im Bereich Kinderschutz
tätigen Akteure zu stärken. Der Schutz dieser Mädchen und Jungen ist von höchster Bedeutung und
stellt für die EU-Mitgliedstaaten eine Verpflichtung dar, die sich aus dem internationalen und dem
europäischen Rechtsrahmen ableitet. Der vorliegende Leitfaden legt den Schwerpunkt auf Kinder,
die Opfer von Menschenhandel geworden sind oder Gefahr laufen, dies zu werden, indem auf die
Umsetzung der Ziele eingegangen wird, die in der Mitteilung der Kommission zur Berichterstattung
über die Folgemaßnahmen zur Strategie der EU zur Beseitigung des Menschenhandels von
2017 beschrieben wurden. Dabei werden ermittelte Muster beleuchtet, auch im Hinblick auf die
geschlechtsspezifischen Besonderheiten von Straftaten.