Round table

Strengthening the protection of children and victims of gender-based violence, in the context of refugee flows in Romania

UNHCR – Council of Europe

Bucharest, 22 November 2023

The round table opened with a discussion on  the main findings of the Report of the fact-finding mission to Romania carried out by the Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG), Leyla Kayacik, in December 2022. In particular, the round table discussed key recommendations on gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection, with a special focus on refugees of all nationalities in Romania.

Mihai Cătălin Necula, the State Secretary and Chief Police Inspector at the Ministry of Internal Affairs highlighted Romania's active role in establishing an emergency transit center for refugees in partnership with UNHCR and ongoing support to Ukraine. He also underlined the milestone inter-ministerial Joint Order, issued in 2022, on the entry, registration, transit, residence and protection of the rights of unaccompanied children from armed conflict areas in Ukraine and stressed the importance of adopting a balanced approach to address both legal and irregular migration challenges.

Eleodor Pirvu, the Deputy General Inspector and Police Quaestor at the General Inspectorate for Immigration (GII), highlighted GII’s role in providing Temporary Protection measures in collaboration with civil society actors and international organizations. Dr Raed Arafat, State Secretary and Chief of the Department for Emergency Situations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, outlined legislative changes implemented in 2023, specifically related to the protection of human trafficking victims, expressing appreciation for the thorough preparation of the report.

Thanking the Romanian authorities for their hospitality, Leyla Kayacik, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees, underlined the evolving nature of the challenges and the need for long-term solutions, praising the efficiency of registration centers and coordination systems. She stressed the importance of developing a systematic vulnerability assessment and referral procedure, improving the knowledge of legal professionals and addressing the shortage of guardians..

Pablo Zapata, the Representative of UNHCR Romania, acknowledged persisting issues outlined in the SRSG report and highlighted the need to continue working on the inclusion of refugees into national systems while, at the same time, shifting towards a longer-term refugee response, assessing the impact of the ongoing crisis and keep strengthening the Romanian national systems to include refugees. He emphasised the continuous nature of the challenges and the progress made over the years in managing refugee and migrant arrivals.

During the morning session, Valentin Nicolescu, the Lawyer from the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), provided an insightful presentation on the ECtHR' case law, focusing on the legal standards related to refugee and migrant children's vulnerabilities and rights and highlighting the impact of the lack of safeguards, such as the absence of legal representantives,

inadequate information about procedures, or limited access to legal support. In this context, he emphasised the importance of Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the crucial role of the Rule 39 interim measure. He also highlighted the need for accurate age assessments, citing cases Rahimi v. Greece and Darboe and Camara v. Italy. When discussing Article 3, he pointed out that the living conditions of asylum seekers must reach a certain level of severity in order to fall under the prohibition of inhumane treatment as set out in  M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece. Nicolescu also elaborated on the principle of the presumption of minority rights and the rights of unaccompanied children under Article 3, which obligates states to identify unaccompanied children and ensure their placement in adequate accommodation. Finally,  he underlined the critical need for adequate living conditions for vulnerable persons as set out in R.R. and Others v. Hungary.

Laura Fragiacomo, serving as the Child Protection Emergency Coordinator for UNICEF Romania, and moderator of the first panel on «protecting refugee children», highlighted the organisation's strategic approach towards aiding refugee children, including unaccompanied children. Emphasising collaborative efforts with the government, United Nations, civil society, and the Council of Europe, she stressed the importance of integrating these children into the Romanian education system and ensuring access to mental health and psychosocial support. UNICEF's inclusive strategy, which benefits not only to Ukrainian refugees but all vulnerable children in Romania, includes enhancing the justice system for child sexual exploitation victims and improving social service support.

Nicolae Gabriel Gorunescu, the Undersecretary of State and Vice President of the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and Adoption in Romania, outlined the country's response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, focusing on emergency actions and systems for managing the influx of refugees, in particular unaccompanied minors and families, with a special reference to the Emergency Ordinance 20/2022 to establish support measures and humanitarian assistance. Collaborative efforts with UNICEF and UNHCR have been crucial, including the implementation of the 'KidsUkraine' app, which was developed exclusively for the integrated management of the situation of children entering Romania without a parent or legal guardian and who were in need of accommodation. In collaboration with UNICEF, the authorities are using Primero, which was designed for registration and monitoring of all Ukrainian children in the country. Romania has registered 33,000 Ukrainian children, ensuring their access to education, healthcare, and social services, with a strong emphasis on protective measures against abuse, exploitation, and violence. Despite the challenges in balancing immediate interventions with long-term integration plans, including education and child protection, Romania has shown resilience and adaptability in providing essential support to refugees during this humanitarian crisis.

Pedro Munoz Alonso, the Community-Based Protection Officer at UNHCR Romania, discussed the protection of unaccompanied and separated children displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, focusing on UN and UNHCR standards. He detailed three main areas: the demographics and risks of these children, UNHCR's guiding frameworks, and their practical application in programmes. More than 7,000 unaccompanied and separated children have been registered, with 48.8 per cent intending to stay in Romania and 50.5 per cent transiting, including 42 unaccompanied children who came to the country. Alonso highlighted the legal frameworks, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the

Refugee Convention, and underlined the collaboration between UNHCR and UNICEF in protecting refugee children, citing in particular the joint advocacy agenda for action by UNHCR and UNICEF, as well as UNHCR’s position on voluntary returns of children from institutionalised care to Ukraine, stressing the importance of ensuring safe and voluntary returns and prioritising the child's best interest, which involves the alignment with best interest determination procedures. Lastly, he mentioned safeguards such as the hiring of qualified professionals and the assigning legal representatives to protect the children's rights.

Zaruhi Gasparyan, the Head of the Co-operation Unit of the Council of Europe’s Children's Rights Division, devoted her presentation to the Council’s standards relevant to the protection of refugee children, with a specific focus on reception and effective guardianship. At the heart of CoE’s work is the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child, which is updated every six years to reflect the changing dynamics and requirements in child protection in order to provide guidance to member states on how to integrate the Council of Europe’s standards and recommendations into their national policies. She outlined the three main strategic objectives relevant to asylum-seeking and refugee children: children’s rights in crisis and emergency situations, child-friendly justice, equal opportunities and social inclusion. She further presented the main recommendations on guardianship and age assessment and mentioned the development of a handbook and a checklist to protect children in the context of migration from sexual abuse.

Daniela Zaharia Manescu, the principal lawyer at the Daniela Zaharia Manescu Law Firm and consultant to Terre des hommes Romania, discussed the Romanian legal framework and practical approach to dealing with unaccompanied children, including asylum seekers, beneficiaries of international protection and temporary protection. Upon stressing the importance of legal representatives, she noted how fundamental it is to cooperate with all stakeholders and specialists involved, such as psychologists, interpreters, public officilas and NGO representatives. She also elaborated on the recent improvements in the Romanian legislation, emphasising the many principles of EU and international law that have been implemented and the good practices related to legal and practical aspects of dealing with unaccompanied children in Romania. In her view, challenges include vocational training for all professionals, assessment of immediate needs and long-term planning.

Delphine Leneutre, the Legal Associate at the UNHCR Representation to the European Institutions in Strasbourg and moderator of the second panel on “Preventing and Protecting Victims of Gender-based Violence in Refugee Contexts”, underlined the excellent cooperation between the UNHCR Representation in Strasbourg and the Council of Europe, with the work of its Special Representative being particularly synergetic and complementary to UNHCR’s protection advocacy. She emphasised that as we move from an emergency response into a more protracted situation, it is now crucial that pathways to sustainable and long-term solutions to address GBV are in place.

Sabrina Wittmann from the Violence against Women Division of the Secretariat of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention[1] monitoring mechanism(GREVIO[2]), presented the Baseline Evaluation Report on Romania published in 2022, which provides an in-depth analysis of the implementation of Chapter 7 of the Istanbul Convention, regarding asylum and migrant women. The three main provisions highlighted by her, Articles 59, 60 and 60 para. 3, focus on: granting migrant women depending on their spouse an independent residence status, ensuring that gender-based violence is recognised as a form of persecution giving rise to a complementary protection, developing gender-sensitive reception and asylum procedures. Although GREVIO observed good practices in the Romanian asylum system, such as gender-sensitive procedures, it also identified some improvements to be implemented in the areas of training of professionals, cooperation between stakeholders, funding and interpretation.

Carmen Nicolescu, the Senior Advisor at the  National Agency for Equal Opportunities Between Men and Women (ANES), gave a presentation on the the national system in law and practice and the challenges encountered. The national system ensures the coordination and provides  methodological guidance of the activities of the General Directorates of Social Assistance And Child Protection and of the Public Social Assistance Services regarding the observance of the legal provisions on prevention and combating  domestic violence. It also develops the minimum quality standards, methodological norms and working procedures for services in the field of preventing and combating domestic violence and violence against women and for aggressors. Lastly, the national system develops minimum quality standards for the case management (victims /agressors) and minimum cost standards for social services. In addtion to a national helpline, the social services in place to prevent and combat GBV include  the following structures in all counties: emergency centres, recovery centres, safe houses, centres for preventing and combating domestic violence, centres for information and awareness raising, counselling centres for perpetrators.

Alexander Seger, the Head of the Council of Europe Cybercrime Division, discussed the application of the Budapest Convention[3] tools in investigating various crimes, including gender-based violence. The Convention's first protocol addresses xenophobia and racism through computer systems, while the second protocol focuses on enhanced cooperation and the disclosure of electronic evidence. The Budapest Convention extends beyond the Council of Europe member states and is aligned with standards in other conventions such as the Istanbul Covnention and Lanzarote Convention[4]. The Cybercrime Division conducted a mapping study on cyberviolence, drawing inspiration from the Istanbul Convention for its definition. He highlighted several tools offered by the Convention and its protocols, ensuring data protection, showcasing advancements in international cooperation and safeguarding sensitive information. The session concluded with a pertinent question on adapting the existing framework for a more effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

Konstantina Loupeidou, UNHCR's PSEA Inter-Agency Coordination Officer in Romania, addressed the nuanced challenges relating to gender-based violence during the ongoing refugee crisis. In the context of its work in Romania, a EU member state with a dispersed refugee population, largely composed of women and children, UNHCR has primarily focused on supporting the Government of Romania and building the capacity of all relevant stateholders on GBV and PSEA, with an emphasis on frontline service providers. In addition to its direct implementation of anti-GBV activities and its partnership with a national woman-led NGO, Sensiblu Foundation, UNHCR co-leads the  GBV sub-working group and the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Network, fostering relations between UN sister agencies, large NGOs and smaller associations. It is noteworthey that the UN ONE in action approach followed, with very close collaboration among the UN sister agencies and important joint achievements, such as the co-organisation and the co-facilitation of substantial capacity buidling activities. The strategy of the organisation is to promote social change in gender perceptions as a prerequisite for improving of the quality of services available to GBV victims. In this sense the refugee response is seen as an opportunity to  support the national structures relating to GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response, thus contributing to social cohesion.

Cristina Horia, the President of the Sensiblu Foundation, spoke about its efforts to address GBV among Ukrainian refugee women. The foundation provides essential services and certified GBV training programmes. She noted the significant consequences of GBV, including psychological and economic impacts. Economic vulnerabilities were highlighted as well as  the importance of employment for financial independence. Challenges arising from displacement, family separation, language barriers, and social prejudices were also addressed. Single parents, particularly middle-aged women, face complexities in securing employment while balancing childcare responsibilities. In both Romania and Ukraine, women reported various challenges, from aggression to threats. Support groups play a crucial role in providing a safe space, although some women resist therapeutic processes due to a strong desire to return to Ukraine. Horia emphasised the need for community integration and assistance in finding employment matching the qualifications of these refugee women.

During the final discussion, participants shared their comments and questions. The exchange primarily focused on the need to target the perpetrator, particularly at the legal level, while also emphasising the importance of respecting the victim's choices. Participants also discussed the need to involve healthcare professionals more extensively in the referral pathway.

One of the contributions to the discussion came from Carmen Niculescu, who clarified that ANES had made a number of efferts to change legislation, including the formation of a task group for amending Law 217 on the Prevention and combating domestic violence. At present, they are making proposals, but their actions are constrained by the victim's right to file a complaint and to continue the protection order, as well as by the reconciliation with the aggressor (a cycle of violence where a victim may return up to nine times before realising the need to leave the abusive relationship). It is not feasible to both regulate and impose interventions. Within ANES's jurisdiction, they are in the process of developing secondary legislation.

In addition, Anet Nangozi, the Gender Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE) Consultant for the World Health Organization, underlined that  healthcare providers are often the first, and sometimes the

only, point of contact, for individuals experiencing GBV. They should provide information and empower individuals to decide when they are ready to report and they should be equipped and trained to do so. The role of WHO is therefore crucial in ensuring that the health system is adequately prepared to support and receive GBV victims. Nangozi welcomed the excellent inter-agency collaboration on tackling the GBV, highlighting the importance of co-organising and co-facilitating capacity building activitites, such as the Clinical Management or Rape Training of Trainers, co-organised by WHO, ANES and other UN agencies.

Conclusions:

The Special Representative acknowledged that while the challenges outlined in the report persist, the Romanian authorities are actively engaged in addressing them. She also mentioned that the Council of Europe stands ready to provide targeted support for the effective implementation of measures in line with the Action Plan on protecting vulnerable persons in the context of migration. SRSG Kayacik thanked the UNHCR for its excellent cooperation and complementarity, and also thanked the participants for taking active part in the event.

In his concluding remarks, UNHCR Romania Representative Pablo Zapata praised the ‘resilience’ of the Romanian authorities and highlighted the ongoing transition from an emergency response to a longer-term approach, extending support not only to individuals from Ukraine but also to all vulnerable persons, including migrants and refugees within Romanian society. As part of this shift, it is important that all actors concerned begin to consider a ‘route-based’ approach, aimed at ensuring the provision of meaningful protection to all persons on the move.

Furthermore, Romania has adopted new legislation regulating the role of representatives for unaccompanied minors, which aims to improve practices in dealing with this vulnerable category. However, challenges remain in terms of know-how and implementation. The Special Representative also highlighted the issue of enforceability, pointing to the need for sustained efforts to ensure that the protection measures are effectively implemented. To address the knowledge gaps, there was a call for vocational training for lawyers and educators to provide tailored support to vulnerable populations. The meeting emphasised the need to include refugees in all services, recognising that, despite being in a EU country with well-established capacities, structures, and institutions, refugees are not solely reliant on traditional humanitarian actors but are actively incorporated into government-provided services. In summary, the concluding remarks reflect a comprehensive and collaborative effort to address ongoing challenges, with a focus on long-term solutions, legislative improvements, and inclusive support mechanisms for vulnerable populations.