The European Commission has proposed a “10-Point Plan for stronger European coordination on welcoming people fleeing the war from Ukraine” (endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council) that includes: creation of an EU platform for registration; an EU level coordinated approach for transport and information hubs; and a call to enhance reception systems and ensure continuity of care and suitable accommodation, among others.

This discussion paper addresses issues facing unaccompanied and separated children fleeing Ukraine and arriving in the European Union (EU). In particular, it focuses on the priority issue of how care and custodial arrangements and guardianship under child protection and migration measures are established within EU Member States. This question has implications for how children access protection, how information on their circumstances is managed and ultimately how durable solutions are identified and secured for children.

This is a summary of what was said by UNICEF's Regional Advisor - Child Protection for Europe and Central Asia, Aaron Greenberg – to whom quoted text may be attributed - at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

There were an estimated 100,000 children in Ukraine’s institutions before Russia’s war on Ukraine which began in February 2022.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the impact of the war against Ukraine on women on 5 May 2022.

There are claims that thousands of disabled Ukrainian children have been forgotten and abandoned in institutions that can’t look after them. The human rights organisation, Disability Rights International, has carried out an investigation and found children with severe disabilities tied to beds in overrun children’s homes unable to cope.

Disability Rights International (DRI) published these recommendations in response to a visit to Ukraine’s institutions for children with disabilities in late April 2022. DRI visited three facilities for children aged six to adult, and one “baby” home for children from birth to age six.

DRI found that Ukraine’s children with disabilities with the greatest support needs are living in atrocious conditions – entirely overlooked by major international relief agencies and receiving little support from abroad. 

The Task Force on Foster Care of the Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform held the second spotlight webinar series on identifying foster carers on 5 May 2022.

The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and Disability Rights International (DRI) invite you to a webinar, organized to be held on the European Independent Living Day and focuses on the role of international relief and funding in conflict and post-war recovery.

These advocacy messages have been developed to support advocacy efforts conducted by Alliance members and wider humanitarian actors responding to and working on the Ukraine crisis response. The global subgroup on Children's Care and Ukraine, which is co-led by the Alliance's Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force (UASC) and the Global Collaborative Platform on Transforming Children's Care, developed the messaging for the UASC section.