“We politicians have a duty to take action, to support the children of Ukraine and their future, in host countries and within Ukraine. And we also have a duty to make every possible effort to help the return of deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children,” PACE President Tiny Kox said at the opening of a PACE hearing on the situation of the children of Ukraine.
Following the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, he recalled, the Assembly has expressed a strong political commitment to help the Ukrainian authorities and relevant stakeholders in other countries. “I wish that today it acts as a facilitator to find possible solutions to the tracing and safe return of deported children to their families and to provide assistance to member states hosting Ukrainian children as regards, for example, access to healthcare and education, including within Ukraine itself,” Tiny Kox stated.
The PACE President recalled recent Assembly Resolution 2495 and Recommendation 2253, which called for support to ensure the immediate return of unlawfully transferred and deported Ukrainian children. “Our Assembly could act as a facilitator to find possible solutions to the tracing and safe return of deported children, helping them reunite with their families or legal guardians. This is a matter of utmost importance given the extreme vulnerability of children who now suffer the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
PACE Vice-President Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, EC/DA) underlined that it is the Assembly’s duty to make every possible effort to help the return of Ukrainian deported and forcibly transferred children. “The Assembly also asked that Russia provide representatives and staff of relevant United Nations bodies and other international human rights and humanitarian mechanisms and organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, with unhindered, immediate and safe access to Ukrainian children to provide reliable and comprehensive information about their numbers and whereabouts, and ensure their dignified treatment and their safe return,” she added.
Opening the morning session, PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, stated that by March 2023, some four million Ukrainians were under temporary protection in the EU. Of these, 47% were women, and over one-third (34%) were children, whose protection remains a critical priority. “We are speaking about more than 1,36 million children who are now living temporarily outside Ukraine, but who will, we hope and believe, return to Ukraine when peace is restored. Around 69% of the displaced children are under 13 years of age, and 0,5% were registered as unaccompanied minors,” she said.
“The goal of this meeting is to foster political support for our member States’ future actions to ensure the best possible reception for the Ukrainian children currently in the Council of Europe member States. This includes meeting their specific needs and notably ensuring an optimal level of protection, access to health care, continuity of education, access to their own language and culture,” she underlined.
The debates were structured in two sessions: the first one focused on the situation of Ukrainian children who are currently in Council of Europe member states, their access to healthcare and education, and EU protection measures. Participants included Maryna Slobodnichenko, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Health Protection for International Affairs, and Vasyl Lutsyk, Head of the National Social Service of Ukraine.
The second session focused on the situation of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred to the Russian Federation, Belarus, or territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. It included statements from Dmytro Lubinets, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Ukrainian Parliament; Viktoriia Litvinova, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine; and Paulo Pisco (Portugal, SOC), PACE rapporteur on deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children.
The meeting also featured video testimonies and discussions on possible actions to locate and help return deported or forcibly transferred Ukrainian children. PACE members, representatives from Ukrainian authorities, NGOs and international organisations contributed to the discussions, focusing on the need for co-ordinated efforts.
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In April 2023, PACE adopted a resolution based on a report by Paulo Pisco (Portugal, SOC) on “Deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children and other civilians to the Russian Federation or to temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories: create conditions for their safe return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators”.
“Migration routes have become increasingly dangerous, not only because of smuggling networks abusing migrants with often no safe and legal alternative to migrate accessible to them, but also because of pushbacks which have unfortunately become tolerated policies in a number of Council of Europe’s member States”, said Theodoros Rousopoulos (Greece, EPP/CD), Chair of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, on the occassion of the 2023 International Migrants’ Day (18 December).
“The responsibility for states to uphold universally recognised rights lays at the core of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights’ case law. This does not come as an easy task, and the Council of Europe should be praised and preserved as a privileged pan-European cooperation space to reflect on concrete tools to support national authorities in upholding these obligations”, he added.
Over the years, Mr Rousopoulos stated, and since the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, “the vulnerability of people on the move has worsened. There is at the same time an increasing dependence of an abundant migrant workforce in many sectors of our European economies, sharing the same workload as other workers, looking after our elderly, treating us in hospitals, picking up fruits, repairing our belongings etc. Very often, these are people who have found shelter in Europe after fleeing war, violence, repression, poverty or the consequences of climate change. We need migrants as much as they need us.”
The outgoing Chair emphasised “the significant contribution of the Committee to the overall work of the Council of Europe in the area of migration by raising awareness and underscoring the positive impact migration” has on host societies. While the world “has become more fragile in the recent past, with a war raging at the heart of Europe, where Ukrainians fight for democracy and human rights for us all, with the tragic conflict in the Middle East, which already has had consequences within our member States, with countries like Belarus and the Russian Federation which are instrumentalising migration to generate fear in European countries, we must show our determination that we will not succumb to blackmail and fear”, Mr Rousopoulos added.
“I trust that the 2023 International Migrants’ Day will be an occasion for Council of Europe member States to renew their commitment to honouring the values and norms they adopted for all people under their jurisdiction, and that they will fully embrace the idea of the positive contribution of migrants in our societies in the spirit of the Reykjavik Declaration adopted at the 4th Summit of Heads of States and Governments”, Mr Rousoupoulos concluded.
On 8 December, the Committee heard a presentation by Mr Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC), member of the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance and author of the draft resolution on the dangers of insturmentalisation of migration in electoral campaigns, adopted by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, and held a discussion on its follow-up by the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination and the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance. The draft resolution will be debated during the PACE plenary session in January.
Precarious and irregular work situations of migrant workers have increased over the years. Their vulnerability is aggravated by cumulative factors, especially by the limited nature of seasonal work contracts, linguistic barriers, or the lengthy and cumbersome procedures for obtaining work permits. “The high degree of precariousness and irregular working conditions among migrant workers, such as low or absent remuneration, excessive workload, harassment, or lack of social security coverage and social rights, lead overall to situations of modern slavery”, PACE Committee on Migration said on 8 December.
The report presented by Stephanie Krisper (Austria, ALDE) to the Migration Committee, meeting in Paris, highlighted that the basic needs of a high number of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in the areas of Calais and Dunkirk (France), were not met. It mentions in particular insufficient places of accommodation situated in remote places that are difficult to access, problematic access to food and water with insufficient and overcrowded distribution points, deficient access to non-food items such as blankets or tents, and limited access to healthcare.
This report follows a fact-finding visit carried out on 25 and 26 October 2023 by a parliamentary delegation chaired by Ms Krisper, whose objective was to examine the situation of asylum seekers and migrants as well as their defenders in the city of Calais and its surroundings.
The Head of the Secretariat of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, Tatiana Termacic, announced the Council of Europe's pledge towards “Localisation – Cities – A Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees” at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum held in Geneva on 13-15 December 2023. She was part of the Council of Europe Delegation, led by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees Leyla Kayacik. Through its contribution, the Council of Europe aims to support local and regional authorities notably with its Intercultural Cities Programme, and in coordination with projects and initiatives promoted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) and its subordinate body, the Committee of Experts on Intercultural Inclusion (ADI-INT).
"The Council of Europe is promoting a new social contract creating a sense of togetherness, a pre-condition to integration, through its expertise and tools. Today, I am delighted to announce our contribution to the multi-stakeholders pledge towards “Localisation – Cities – A Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees”, through which the Council of Europe will support local and regional authorities notably with its Intercultural Cities Programme. The aim will be that all the diverse groups of people living together in the same community, including migrants and refugees, have access to the same services and see their needs met. This will be achieved through the Organisation’s virtuous circle made of standard-setting, monitoring, cooperation and best practices from its 46 member States with a multi-layered and comprehensive approach. The implementation time is four years."
The Head of the secretariat of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons announced the Conseil de l'Europe’s pledge towards “Localisation – Cities – A Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees” at the 2023 Global Refugee forum held in Geneva on 13-15 December 2023. She was part of the Council of Europe Delegation led by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees Leyla Kayacik. Through its contribution, the Council of Europe aims to support local and regional authorities notably with its Intercultural Cities Programme, and in coordination with projects and initiatives promoted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) and its subordinate body, the Committee of Experts on Intercultural Inclusion (ADI-INT).
"The Council of Europe is promoting a new social contract creating a sense of togetherness, a pre-condition to integration, through its expertise and tools. Today, I am delighted to announce our contribution to the multi-stakeholders pledge towards “Localisation – Cities – A Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees”, through which the Council of Europe will support local and regional authorities notably with its Intercultural Cities Programme. The aim will be that all the diverse groups of people living together in the same community, including migrants and refugees, have access to the same services and see their needs met. This will be achieved through the Organisation’s virtuous circle made of standard-setting, monitoring, cooperation and best practices from its 46 member States with a multi-layered and comprehensive approach. The implementation time is 4 years."
