site.bta1,404 Unaccompanied Child Refugees Seek Protection in Bulgaria in 10 Months

1,404 Unaccompanied Child Refugees Seek Protection in Bulgaria in 10 Months

Sofia, November 13 (BTA) - A total of 1,404 unaccompanied child refugees sought protection in Bulgaria between January and October 2015, State Agency for Refugees Deputy Chairman Vassil Vurbanov told a conference in the National Assembly on Friday. The event was organized by MEP Iliana Iotova and the Bulgarian
Socialists' delegation to the European Parliament.

The conference was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Kalfin, Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova, European Parliament Rapporteur on Migration Kashetu Kyenge (Italy), Bulgarian Socialist Party Chairman Mihail Mikov, Bulgarian MEPs and MPs.

Vurbanov said that there are currently 125 unaccompanied children staying at refugee centres in Bulgaria, but just two days ago their number was 204. This implies a kind of mobility which makes it impossible to take all necessary measures for their protection. Some kids stay in the refugee centres for only a couple of hours, he said.

According to Vurbanov, the number of unaccompanied foreign children in Bulgaria began to increase sharply at the beginning of 2014. The largest part of these kids came from Afghanistan. Then, the period from January to October 2015 saw an increase in unaccompanied children from Iraq.

The share of unaccompanied Syrian kids in Bulgaria has stood at between 17 and 18 per cent over the last two years. Though separated from their parents, most of them are not by themselves, because they come with other family members, but the law still defines them as "unaccompanied," Vurbanov explained. Unlike the Syrian children, 82 per cent of those from Afghanistan and Iraq arrive here by themselves, and after being registered, leave the refugee centres of their own accord.

The Bulgarian authorities have made 668 decisions on 1,404 status applications so far this year. The difference between the two numbers represents precisely the number of applicants who left the refugee centres without waiting for the decision, Vurbanov said. Such cases are brought to the notice of the police and the State Agency for Child Protection.

Fourteen per cent of unaccompanied child refugees who have sought protection in Bulgaria this year are under 14 years of age, 30 per cent are aged between 14 and 15, and 56 per cent are aged between 16 and 17. There are not many girls among them.

In October 2015 alone, 3,506 foreigners (adults as well as children) sought protection in Bulgaria, and in the first 10 days of November there were 1,161 more applications, Vurbanov said. Despite the large number of protection applications, only 1,348 people are staying at Refugee Agency facilities, filling only 26 per cent of the available accommodation capacity. The reason is that many applicants move on to Macedonia and Serbia, but this "luxury," as Vurbanov put it, will not go on for much longer. A total of 4,497 children sought protection in Bulgaria between January and October 2015, he said.

Labour Minister Kalfin said that 14 child refugees have been accommodated at centres for social services. Around 100 refugees have been registered at employment offices and under 100 have been included in subsidized employment with the centres of the State Agency for Refugees, he also said. Kalfin noted that Bulgaria has to accept between 50 and 100 refugees by this year's end and 2,000 refugees in 2016 under the EU's relocation scheme.

MEP Iotova said that out of the 160,000 refugees on whose relocation within the EU there had been disputes, only 147 people have been relocated to two countries - Luxembourg and Sweden. Only one out of the planned 11 hotspots is working, she added.

Kashetu Kyenge said 175,000 children have sought protection in Europe so far this year, a quarter of them aged under 14. She noted that a number of EU Member States systematically violate the rights of asylum-seeking children. No child should be held in detention, Kyenge said.