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Description
In 2018, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has identified the category of unaccompanied minors as being subject to one of the highest risks with regards to the respect of human fundamental rights in the field of migration. One out of three children who lives outside his/her country of origin is a refugee, according to UNICEF.
In 2020, the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Romania reached 980, an almost four-fold increase compared to previous years. It is expected that the number of migrants entering Romania will increase, taking into consideration the fact that in 2020 a number of 34.600 persons tried to enter Romania, while in 2019 there were 6.042 persons and in 2018 there were 2.787 persons. Out of them, up to 15%-20 % are minors.
The project aims to enhance the access for 500 minors and young foreigners to their fundamental rights and to public services, through advocacy services, free legal assistance, information, training. It also aims to increase the capacity of vulnerable groups to be involved in the decision making and consultative process. It aims to support the collaboration between institutions and between the institutions and the foreigners to ensure that the best interest of the child is respected and to improve the policies, legislation, practices, and attitudes.
Terre des Hommes’s mission is to improve the child protection system while its priority is to support the migrant children who are affected by migration, the prevention of unsafe migration of children and young foreigners and ensure access to fundamental rights for minors affected by migration.
The partner organisation from Romania, the Jesuit Refugee Service aims to defend, support and promote fundamental human rights, especially for refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and stateless. The activities organised include direct assistance activities, advocacy, monitoring the public policy, information campaigns and training.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to improve the problems of unaccompanied foreign minorities by training professionals, working directly with young migrants who can represent their community, advocacy and dissemination activities.
Among the results achieved are: organizing field research and finalizing the standard on respecting the best interests of the child when it comes to unaccompanied minors. A legal compendium and training support for lawyers working with asylum cases in court were produced. Lawyers helped represent the cases of 28 minors in court. The Migrants’ Forum was established and thematic meetings were organized with state institutions and other NGOs. A series of 20 videos was produced to help migrants understand their rights, obligations and responsibilities, as well as details on various services. Activities were organized with young Romanians and migrants. 6 ITO reports were published regarding the geopolitical situation of some source countries for migrants traveling to Romania.
The impact of the project consisted in improving the protection and representation of young migrants by training professionals, promoting the participation of young migrants in their communities and facilitating access to justice.