MEPs were concerned on the morning of Tuesday 5 April about the situation of child refugees from the war in Ukraine, particularly after images of cruelty from the town of Bucha. They urged Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica and Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who came to discuss with them, to devise an emergency plan to deal with them.
To date, 2.5 million children have fled Ukraine, out of a total of more than 4.2 million people, and some of these children (50,000) are disabled, the Vice-President said, telling MEPs that the national child guarantee coordinators are on alert and that the European network for children’s rights has been activated.
The Vice President emphasised schooling as well as ‘standard’ immunisation for children. She also warned of the psychological consequences for children, “who will be marked by the war”.
For her part, Commissioner Johansson noted that the Russian army had so far killed “158 children and wounded many more”. It is essential that these crimes, like those in Bucha, “do not go unpunished; Europol and Eurojust will have a key role to play”, she said.
Her services are currently working on specific guidelines for the care of children, which will also include measures to support unaccompanied minors, the Commissioner also announced. In addition, EU funds will be allocated to the fight against trafficking in human beings, including children, which remains a major risk, the Commissioner reiterated. In this context, it is necessary to “keep an eye on” every child and to be able to register every person who arrives in the EU. There is also a need to “register host families” for refugees.
According to Ilde Vautmans (Renew Europe, Belgium), quoting the NGO Child Focus, “2,000 minors have already disappeared. Where are they?”, she asked the two officials, fearing that they had already fallen into the hands of the networks.
The European Parliament will vote on a resolution on the subject on 7 April. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)