The number of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons throughout the world has never been so high as in 2022, and women and children face heightened vulnerabilities and violence in the course of migration. That is the finding of the report on the reception of women and child refugees in Europe’s cities and regions, adopted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 25 October 2022.
Presented by the co-rapporteurs, Annika Vaikla (Estonia, ILDG) and Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CEE), the report underlines the limits of mass reception facilities, which are often unsuitable, and proposes good practices for local authorities regarding housing, healthcare and education, with a view to ensuring safe reception and respect for the human rights of women and children fleeing their own countries.
“It is estimated that women and children have made up 90% of Ukrainians who have fled abroad since the start of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. Our report notably takes into account the results of a visit made to Poland in July to gather the experiences of Polish towns and cities that are taking in thousands of Ukrainian women and children,” explained Ms Vaikla, emphasizing that all refugee women and children, whatever their origin, should have access to a safe reception.
To ensure the long-term protection of women and child refugees and asylum seekers, the Congress encourages local and regional authorities to co-operate with the other levels of governance and civil society organisations and to develop gender-sensitive and child-friendly reception policies. “We noted that close co-operation among local governments themselves, with civil society and also between the various tiers of government really makes a difference,” said Mr Vöhringer.
The Congress urges national authorities to set up clear and transparent funding mechanisms so that local and regional authorities can provide high-quality reception facilities for women and child refugees and also to facilitate the collection and sharing of relevant data regarding arriving refugees.
Addressing the members of the Congress, the Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General on migration and refugees, Leyla Kayacik, shared the results of her fact-finding missions to several countries in Europe. She called for local and regional authorities in Europe not to be left alone in ensuring the protection of refugee women and children. “The involvement of all relevant stakeholders is necessary,” she concluded.
Mediabox interview with B. Vöhringer and A. Vaikla
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43rd Session
Agenda – Web file – Multimedia (Live webcasts, interviews, videos and photo)
