The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) concludes her fact-finding visit to the Republic of Moldova (13-15 June 2022), which focused on the protection of the refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The number of arrivals in the country has decreased compared to the massive influx at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but the people arriving now are in a more vulnerable situation and are likely to stay for a longer time. Of the nearly 500,000 refugees who have crossed the border from Ukraine, Moldova is currently hosting about 80,000 persons, half of whom are children. Around 90% of these refugees are hosted by over 10,000 local families.
“Civil society, local communities and state authorities are deploying extraordinary efforts to welcome people from Ukraine, while being very attentive to the protection of their human rights. Even though there is uncertainty as to the length of their stay, more staff, resources and expertise are needed to build long-term solutions for the women, children, elderly and persons with disabilities currently in the country. Certain facilities are not meant to accommodate refugees for longer periods”, said the Special Representative.
At the Palanca border crossing with Ukraine and in the Refugee Accommodation Centre MoldExpo, the SRSG talked to refugees who expressed their gratefulness for the hospitality while manifesting their wish to go back home as soon as possible. The trend is that slightly more people are going back to Ukraine than coming in.
On the last day of her visit, in Chișinău, the SRSG addressed a launching event on strengthening the skills of psychologists, teachers and social workers to detect women and children with war-related traumas and treat them adequately. The “Seminar on Psychological Support to Refugees: Strengthening Professional Capacities” is a first step of a fully-fledged programme aiming notably at enhancing the skills and know-how of a wide range of actors to detect victims of trafficking, violence, exploitation and abuse, including among those fleeing Ukraine, and treat them adequately, on the basis of the standards of the Council of Europe.
The report of the visit is forthcoming.
