The State Agency for Refugees initiates a meeting between state institutions and non-governmental organizations with a special focus on creating a sustainable model of care for one of the most vulnerable social groups - unaccompanied refugee children.
The inter-institutional working meeting was held within the framework of the implementation of the pilot project for Bulgaria and the European Union for the creation of alternative social services for unaccompanied refugee children, financed under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. The project is implemented by the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers in partnership with UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration and four municipalities - Burgas, Ivaylovgrad, „Tundzha“ and Malko Tarnovo.
“These children have experienced war, separation from families, a difficult migration path, often violence, a significant number of them become victims of human traffickers“, said the Chairman of the State Agency for Refugees Ivan Ivanov, citing data from European security services that human trafficking is already approaching drug trafficking in scale.
“Therefore, it is important to outline the framework, to achieve sustainable and long-term solutions for the provision of quality social services for these children. Within the framework of the project, the need for targeted and coordinated expert dialogue between all involved institutions was highlighted, so that this concern does not remain solely within the framework of the project. Therefore, I thank you for your commitment“, addressed the representatives of the institutions and non-governmental organizations, the Chairman of the State Agency for Refugees Ivan Ivanov, and added:
“I am convinced that through joint efforts, institutional coordination and expert dialogue we can achieve sustainable, legal and workable solutions that put the child and his best interest at the center“.