HUNDREDS of thousands of children have been forced to flee Ukraine in the past week following the barbaric invasion by Vladimir Putin’s forces, according to UNICEF and UNHCR.
They are among the more than one million refugees who have emerged on the back of the horrific Russian onslaught.
The two agencies have begged all States to offer as safe space for families and children as they desperately try to escape the conflict.
In a joint statement, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said: “Children without parental care are at a heightened risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.
“When these children are moved across borders, the risks are multiplied. The risk of trafficking also soars in emergencies.
“UNICEF and UNHCR urge all neighbouring and impacted countries to ensure the immediate identification and registration of unaccompanied and separated children fleeing from Ukraine, after allowing them access to their territory.
“States should offer safe spaces for children and families immediately following border crossings, and link these to national child protection systems.
“The current emergency also necessitates rapidly expanding the capacity of emergency care arrangements with screened caregivers as well as other critical services for the protection of children, including against gender-based violence, as well as family tracing and reunification mechanisms.
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“For children who have been displaced across borders without their families, temporary foster or other community-based care through a government system offers critical protection.
“Adoption should not occur during or immediately after emergencies.
“Every effort should be made to reunify children with their families when possible, if such reunification is in their best interest.”
SPECIAL MEASURES IN PLACE
UNICEF and UNHCR also said it was critical that special measures were put in place for the almost 100,000 Ukrainian children who lived in institutional care.
They added: “Those legally responsible for children in institutions in Ukraine must ensure that evacuations are done in line with national authorities’ instructions.
“Movements must be reported to competent authorities in Ukraine and neighbouring countries immediately upon crossing the border, and as far as possible, children should be evacuated with their identification papers and case files.”
