From 22 to 24 November, three separate events were organised in Bucharest as follow ups to the report of the fact-finding mission to Romania, carried out by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG), Leyla Kayacik.
Further strengthening the protection of refugees, in particular women and children in a vulnerable situation, was the main focus of a round table discussion on “Strengthening the protection of children and victims of gender-based violence, in the context of refugee flows in Romania”, co-organised by the SRSG Office and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The discussion focused on the findings contained in the SRSG’s report and the actions to be taken in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025). Participants were updated on the European Court of Human Rights case law on vulnerability and children, as well as on the existing international and European standards and national measures taken to protect children and victims of gender-based violence in the context of migration and asylum.
On 23 and 24 November, the Council of Europe Directorate of Political Affairs and External Relations of the Council of Europe, in close co-operation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees and the Romanian Government organised a training on “Psychological Support to Refugees: Strengthening Professional Capacities.”
“This two-day training aims to concretely support and contribute to the efforts of teams of front-line workers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania including police officers and border police, psychologists of the General Inspectorate of Immigration, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and of the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons , conducting emergency interventions with health and social services staff working on psycho-social support and trauma rehabilitation,” the SRSG stated.
Finally, on 23 November, the second meeting of the Community of Practice on Migration and Human Rights at local level of the Council of Europe Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities also took place in Bucharest.
