More information
Description
In 2019 and 2020 IOM took steps to improve situation for support to unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) establishing two safety zones in RCC Sofia - Voenna Rampa and Ovcha Kupel. The two Safety Zones ensure a safe and protective environment for children, where they receive care adapted to their age, gender, religion and cultural background by trained professionals, including social workers, psychologists, legal counsellors, a cultural mediator and interpreters. In order to continue the functioning of the two safety zones, IOM will implement the following activities: Protection Services - Provision of 24/7 social assistance; · Provision of 24/7 physical security; · Provision of interpretation and cultural mediation services; · Provision of social, legal, and psychological support, support with access to GP/medical services, coverage of medical interventions and purchase of medications, as needed; · Organization of information sessions on various topics, including services provided by IOM, rights and obligations while in procedure for international protection, rules of the Safety zone, Dublin family reunification procedure, protection measures against COVID-19, and others. · Provision of support to UMC who attend school; · Distribution of Non food items – clothing, hygiene items and other items, as needed. · Organization of cultural, art and sport activities, field trips to cultural, historical, and natural sites. Maintenance of the material base of the safety zones: · Small repairs and renovation work; · Purchase / replace materials, furniture, and equipment; Coordination · coordination meetings with SAR · Coordinate and ensure complementarity with other partners, including as regards Dublin family reunification procedure Information materials will be designed and produced under the project to be disseminated using the partnership networks of IOM and in the Internet.
Summary of project results
The project was aiming at the management of the two Safe Zones by IOM which contributed specifically to ensuring respect for the rights of UAMs seeking international protection, including the four core principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to survival and development, and respect for the views of the child. At the same time, the existence of the Safe Zones model serves to build up the capacity of state institutions in the fields of asylum and migration.
The sustainable model of Safe Zones for UAMs and the established good practice of providing 24/7 care and support to the UAMs through social workers, as well as mobile teams including a psychologist, social worker, lawyer and cultural mediator, and referring children to additional services provided by NGOs and competent institutions, will continue to serve as a practical model for effective organized support for unaccompanied children and cooperation with national state and civil society stakeholders.
The sustainability of the management of the two Safe Zones by IOM Bulgaria is ensured until the end of 2026 through the launch of a new project specifically focused on the zones and the care and support provided to UAMs - "Support for Unaccompanied Minors Accommodated in Safe Zones", funded under the National Programme of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027.
The two Safe Zones for UAMs contribute to Bulgaria''s compliance with and implementation of the European Union’s (EU) legal framework on asylum and migration, in particular the Reception Conditions Directive, the Asylum Procedures Directive and the Dublin Regulation. The zones are specialized places that provide a safe living environment that ensures the best interests of the child can be pursued and protected by providing round-the-clock social support and care during the international child protection procedure.
At the end of the project it should be noted that the results achieved are higher than originally planned in the project and more specifically in Output 1.1. Assisting UAMs accommodated in the Safe Zones during the period of their initial adaptation in Bulgaria through social, psychological and legal support is among the main priorities and objectives of IOM. The provision of information and easier access to organizations and institutions providing administrative, health, social and other services is a key factor for the easy adaptation of unaccompanied children and their further integration in the country.
Within the framework of the project more than 3 700 unaccompanied minors (UAMs) were registered, accommodated and received 24/7 care and support in the two Safe Zones managed by IOM Bulgaria – 2,399 UAMs, mostly from Afghanistan, in the Safe Zone in the State Agency for Refugees’ (SAR) Registration and Reception Center (RRC) in Sofia – Voenna Rampa and 1,341 UAMs, mostly from Syria, in RRC Sofia – Ovcha Koupel. Out of 2,399 children in the Safe Zone in RRC Sofia – Voenna Rampa, 10 are girls (2 from Afghanistan and 8 from Syria) and the rest are boys. In the second Safe Zone all children are boys. The average occupancy rate in the Safe Zone in RRC Sofia – Voenna Rampa for the entire project implementation period was 91.88%, while the average rate in the Safe Zone in RRC Sofia - Ovcha Koupel was 234%. The overall average occupancy rate for the two Safe Zones for the entire project implementation period was 162.94%.
Of all registered children, 1 062 received individual counseling through social, psychological and legal consultations. Additional support included cultural mediation, and referral to psychological and specialized outside services such as medical and other professionals. More than 550 children received medical support within the project, including 100 for whom medicines were purchased. Furthermore, 15 excursions to historical, cultural and nature sites were organized for the UAMs as part of the project, as well as two football tournaments, one group art activity (graffiti festival) and one cultural-recreational activity (social circus).
Information and publicity measures were carried out systematically during the entire project implementation period. Within the framework of the project, 20 posts were published on IOM Bulgaria’s Facebook page about the activities and support provided to unaccompanied children in the Safe Zones managed by IOM Bulgaria. 19 posts were published on IOM’s Instagram page and 12 on Twitter (X), as well as 8 on the project page on IOM Bulgaria’s website.
The financial contribution of the NFM 2014-2021 to the implementation of the project through the Program was clearly indicated on all publications on IOM Bulgaria’s website and social media networks.