Currently, there are 240 cases of removal of children from Ukrainian refugee families in Europe, - Office of Ombudsman
There are currently 240 cases of removal of children from Ukrainian refugee families in Europe. This is mainly due to differences in legislation.
Iryna Suslova, the representative of the ombudsman for the rights of children, family, youth and sports, said this in an interview with Radio Liberty, Censor.NET reports.
"Due to differences in legislation, in European countries there are cases, so to speak, of taking a child away from the people with whom she lives. As of now, 240 such cases have been recorded. For example, these may be stories when a mother was forced to stay at work in to Ukraine, and sent the grandmother with her child to the evacuation. The grandmother does not have any power of attorney to represent her interests and is not considered a relative of this child under European law. In this way, social services can involve the police and remove the child from the family," she said.
According to her, there is insufficient work on the part of Ukraine.
"Because we had to inform people, to say: "Friends, there is a law, it provides that, for example, in Germany you have to do these procedures." Can't a person who has reached the age of 65 be a guardian in Italy or France? age. The commissioner's office is trying to follow this story, monitor the situation, provide legal assistance to women or families who find themselves in such a situation. We are working now with international organizations to settle this issue and that those who find themselves in such a situation received two things - legal assistance and translation," Suslova said.
She added that the relatives of the children who were taken by the European social services must contact the consular department and inform them, and they can also contact the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
"We will take this issue under control, we will communicate with the consul and international partners to resolve this situation," she added.
