PMore than 4 million Ukrainians have fled their war-torn country, half of them children, according to Unicef. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as many NGOs and associations warn of the risks for these minors represented by the path of exile. Family separation, disappearances, bad encounters, or even human trafficking… While 7,000 Ukrainian children have been educated in French schools, the Secretary of State for Children and Families Adrien Taquet, back from he trip to Poland reaffirms the government’s desire to protect these minors.
Since the majority of refugees are women and children, networks can take advantage of the chaos to organize various types of trafficking. “We know that there are also single individuals who go to the borders, claiming to “bring help” to isolated children. Forced labour, particularly sexual labour, and pedocrime have not disappeared from our continent,” recalls Adrien Taquet, who is working with his European counterparts to provide an adequate response. Among the solutions: systematic registration of minors at borders, raising awareness of international associations on the risks of trafficking and a call for vigilance from actors in French local authorities. Maintenance.
Point : International institutions and NGOs warn of the dangers of exile for Ukrainian children, in particular the risk of disappearances and trafficking. Are they proven?
Adrian Taquet: From the earliest days, children have been among the first victims of the conflict, as is often the case. This is why I took the opportunity of the presence in Paris of many European Ministers responsible for Childhood, on March 4, to warn of the consequences of their exposure to the conflict and of the need to put everything in works to protect them. This is why we signed with my European counterparts a declaration on the situation in Ukraine, which aims to provide a rapid and concrete response to children and their families. This declaration also served as the basis for additional discussions, particularly on the risks of trafficking. Because yes, when the vast majority of refugees are women and children, that unfortunately attracts many networks that go to Ukraine to take advantage of the chaos and that exposes those fleeing the fighting to a whole type of trafficking. We know that there are also individuals who go to the borders on their own, claiming to “bring help” to isolated children. Forced labour, particularly sexual labour, and pedocrime have not disappeared from our continent.
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How to prevent this traffic from taking place? The collective Together against human trafficking, created by Secours Catholique, calls in particular for the systematic registration of minors at borders.
Constant vigilance is needed to protect children from the risks of trafficking, from the place of departure of the children to their place of destination. This is an approach in which we are committed with the Ukrainian authorities but also the Polish ones, who are on the front line in the reception of refugees. In Poland, the children are registered, but the challenge is then to follow them throughout the Schengen area. The solutions are first of all an increased awareness of all actors of the risks of trafficking – and we are working on this with international associations and organizations – and then the mobilization of national child protection systems. Beyond the awareness and information flyers distributed in reception centers by the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women against Violence and the fight against trafficking in human beings (Miprof), the government has just issued an instruction to local authorities, in particular to the departments responsible for social assistance for children (ASE), which insists on these risks of trafficking and on vigilance in this regard.
We see both children arriving alone and entire orphanages being displaced.
Nearly 100,000 children live in institutions (orphans but also disabled and foster children) in Ukraine, what is their current fate? You may have met some in Poland?
Some children who lived in institutions were indeed able to leave Ukraine. We see both children arriving alone and entire orphanages being displaced. I went to Stalowa Wola, in the south-west of Poland, where a reception center for children has been created: 86 are housed there, including 38 with disabilities (mental disability, ‘autism…). Their situation is the subject of very special attention, linked to their vulnerability, to the sometimes multiple weaknesses they present. Others are still on Ukrainian territory, not all of them are exposed to the fighting, but the concern remains strong for a certain number of them.
Adoptions are in principle suspended, but associations report suspicious cases: Christian organizations which allegedly “picked up” children at the border to take them to European countries, a member of the American and evangelical extreme right, who participated to the evacuation of an orphanage in Mariupol, and would prepare adoptions with the United States…
We condemn these individual steps aimed at adopting children and which contravene the will of the Ukrainian authorities. They are very attentive to the respect of filiation. On this subject, we are working closely with the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris. We must avoid all uncoordinated approaches that are likely to compete with or destabilize the aid and protection organized by States and associations.
What feedback from NGOs have you been able to get in the field?
From day one, the role of NGOs and international organizations (Unicef and Caritas in particular) has been central in the field. They often ensure the first reception, accompaniment and care of refugees and, for the most part, pay particular attention to children. We therefore work in close collaboration with them, whether it is their French branches or those in Ukraine or in neighboring countries. They are particularly alert to the risks of trafficking or the psychological impact of the conflict on children.
Around forty minors between the ages of 15 and 17 have arrived on French territory, according to your firm. In theory, informs us the NGO Care International, they must carry a letter from their parents signed by a notary to cross the border. Some managed to get through alone, others with “trustworthy” people. What checks are carried out upon their arrival in France? Are they treated like any other unaccompanied minor (MNA), cared for by Childhood Social Assistance (ASE), then housed in a home or hotel?
We have worked on solutions adapted to each profile. For example, when a minor arrives alone without accompaniment, his situation is assessed by the Departmental Council and France can then guarantee him security and protection. If it is a minor accompanied by a Ukrainian institution or structure or by a responsible adult, we carefully examine whether the adults in charge of the child have a legal title guaranteeing the respect of their rights. A joint support is set up between the accompanying person and the child, the time of the checks. If a risk exists, the child can then benefit from a judicial placement to be protected.