15.11.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 434/51 Thursday 7 April 2022
— having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the targeting of the Ukrainian population has caused a large number of people and families to flee Ukraine, taking a tremendous toll, especially on children and young people in the wider region;
B. whereas according to the latest UNICEF report (6), as of 25 March 2022, over 3,7 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war; whereas this figure is expected to continue to increase in the coming weeks; whereas the UN also estimates that there are now almost 6,5 million people who have been internally displaced since the beginning of the war, and an additional 12,65 million people directly affected by the conflict;
C. whereas according to the latest UNICEF report (7), women and children make up 90 % of all refugees fleeing Ukraine; whereas almost half of the refugees fleeing Ukraine are of school age (8); whereas UNICEF also estimates that more than 2,5 million children have been internally displaced since the beginning of the conflict;
D. whereas as of 25 March 2022, neighbouring countries have been coping with a huge influx of refugees fleeing Ukraine, with over 2,2 million going to Poland, over 579 000 to Romania, over 379 000 to Moldova, close to 343 000 to Hungary, and more than 545 000 to other countries (9);
E. whereas with such high figures, children, especially when unaccompanied, are at increased risk of violence, abuse and exploitation and there is an increased risk for children of going missing and falling victim to trafficking, especially when moving across borders;
F. whereas more than 100 000 children, half of them with disabilities, live in institutional care and boarding schools in Ukraine (10) and more than 90 % of those children have parents; whereas according to official figures, 4 311 babies were born in Ukraine between 24 February and the beginning of March, and whereas it is estimated that there were 265 000 pregnant women at the start of the crisis, some 80 000 of whom are expected to deliver over the next three months;
G. whereas according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were at least 35 875 stateless persons and persons of undetermined nationality in Ukraine in 2021; whereas approximately 10-20 % of the estimated 400 000 Roma people living in Ukraine are stateless or at risk of statelessness; whereas 55 % of children born in Donetsk and Luhansk and 88 % of children born in Crimea were reported to lack Ukrainian birth certificates or personal documents, putting them at risk of statelessness (11); whereas children in forced migration are at increased risk of statelessness due to issues linked to obstacles to birth registration in their country of origin or during displacement and a lack of recognition of their parents’ statelessness; whereas this risk is exacerbated for unaccompanied children in view of obstacles to documentation and registration, including lack of proof of family links;
(6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
(11)
UNICEF, Ukraine Situation: Refugee Response in Neighbouring Countries — Humanitarian Situation Report No 3, 23 March 2022.
UNICEF, Ukraine Situation: Refugee Response in Neighbouring Countries — Humanitarian Situation Report No 3, 23 March 2022.
European Commission, ‘Fleeing Ukraine: support for education’, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-20192024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine/eu-assistance-ukraine/information-people-fleeing-war-ukraine/fleeing-ukrainesupport-education_en UNICEF, Ukraine Situation: Refugee Response in Neighbouring Countries — Humanitarian Situation Report No 3, 23 March 2022.
See UNICEF, ‘Unaccompanied and separated children fleeing escalating conflict in Ukraine must be protected’, joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, 7 March 2022, and Hope and Homes for Children, The Illusion of Protection: An Analytical Report Based on the Findings of a Comprehensive Study of the Child Protection System in Ukraine, 2017, accessed at: http://www.openingdoors.eu/the-illusion-of-protection-national-audit-of-the-childprotection-system-in-ukraine See the European Network on Statelessness briefing, ‘Stateless people and people at risk of statelessness forcibly displaced from Ukraine’, 10 March 2022, and UNHCR, ‘Stateless Persons’, available at https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/stateless-persons