UNICEF Supports Children Fleeing Violence and on the Move in Europe
NEW YORK (August 25, 2015) – UNICEF has established a child-friendly space with a mobile team near Geveglija town, at the border with Greece, to provide much needed support to women and children on the move through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The child-friendly space has been set up within the compounds of the migrant rest area established by UNHCR. A mobile team from the local NGO LaStrada is helping to reunite children with their families and to provide psychosocial support and early childhood development services to the children.
The space is providing a safe place for children to rest and play while families complete registration procedures. In addition, the mobile team is screening, identifying and referring children in need of specialized protection services.
UNICEF has procured a set of art, play and educational materials. The child-friendly space can support some 50 children at one time.
Over the last month, the rate of migrants transiting through the country has increased to 1,500 to 2,000 per day – approximately 30 percent are women and children. Many are escaping conflict in their home countries of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. At greatest risk are migrant children travelling alone without parents or adult family members.
Children on the move are being shuttled from one authority to another, shunted and at risk of falling through gaps in laws, policies and practices in transit and host countries. They face a future without education, and limited access to justice and health care. At times, they have been subjected to detention and border control practices that endanger their lives.
UNICEF is urging authorities to recognize and treat all migrant children, no matter what their legal status, religion or affiliation, first and foremost as children with rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They must receive special care and attention as well as non-discriminatory and consistent protection. UNICEF is continuing to monitor the situation on the ground and work with local authorities to ensure children are protected.
Note to journalists:Earlier this year UNICEF put forward a 10-point plan to the EU to be guided on the best interests of children who are migrants or refugees. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81876.html
About UNICEFThe United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For more information, contact: Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.922.2464, mgreenberg@unicefusa.orgSophie Aziakou, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 917.720.1397, saziakou@unicefusa.org