C Explanatory Memorandum by Mr Oleksii
Goncharenko, Rapporteur for opinion
1 Labour migration existed in
Europe for many years. In the past, people from poverty-driven areas travelled
to places where they could earn a living for themselves and their
families. This helped meet the short-term needs of those who went
abroad, but the consequences for families left behind were dramatic.
This is still the case today, unfortunately, despite the decades
of socio-economic progress. Last year, the Parliamentary Assembly
debated this issue, based on the report by Mr Ionut-Marian Stroe
on “Labour migration from eastern Europe and its impact on socio-demographic
processes in these countries”
Note. He depicted the sad story of family
separation in Eastern Europe with a focus on Ukraine, Poland, Romania
and the Republic of Moldova.
2 In my country, Ukraine, children left behind are commonly
divided into two categories: those who are left behind, but whose
parents will eventually return, and those whose parents will not
return. According to a study of the International Organization for
Migration, one in every five left-behind Ukrainian child is permanently abandoned.
According to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport, there are
about 200 000 children left behind in Ukraine. Others estimate these
figures being much higher, as mentioned by Mr Badea in his report:
“many left-behind children are unreported and statistics in this
area are highly unreliable. Research is patchy and interventions
tend to be ad hoc and driven by international donors and civil society
organisations
Note.”
3 Many eastern European countries, including Ukraine, do not
have viable social security systems to allow for adequate health
protection for children, when parents are abroad. Moreover, drug
addiction can develop rapidly amongst children left behind under
the phenomena referred to as “social orphanhood”
Note.
This particular problem of left-behind children is not covered by
Mr Badea’s report and I feel it is important to mention it. In this context
I would like to refer to the Assembly’s work on the issue, and in
particular, the report by Ms Hannah Bardell (United Kingdom, NR)
on a “Drug policy and human rights in Europe: a baseline study”
Note where
it is highlighted that the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group’s
Stavanger Declaration recalled the right of children to be protected
from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances
Note
4 I would also like to mention that in many cases, mothers or
fathers, who have left, find new partners abroad. Children suffer
the most in such cases. The lack of socialisation of left behind
children coupled with the consequences of family breakdowns have
serious consequences on child up-bringing and future life chances.
5 In the regions most affected by emigration, nearly one-quarter
of all children are raised by one parent. The majority are adolescents,
an age during which many studies find that children are at their
most vulnerable. In the case of transnational families in Ukraine,
many left-behind children experience abandonment and neglect, which
could prove detrimental to their development and transition into
adulthood. Juvenile delinquency is also a widespread problem among
children left behind. Furthermore, labour migration not only has
an effect on the children but also on the family as a whole. It
often happens that the departure of the primary caregiver, especially
the mother, is accompanied by a general crisis of family relations
and socio-economic conditions. In particular, long periods of parents
being away from their families seriously undermine the parent-child relationship
and families could be indefinitely separated causing the alienation
of children from their parents.
Note
6 An additional point worth mentioning is that parents often
contribute financially to supporting their children through remittances.
The well-being of such families depends on this. Therefore, facilitating
migrants’ remittances and reducing the money transfer costs to make
sure that families can survive, despite the hardship of separation,
is of utmost importance.
7 Resolution 2310
(2019) “Labour migration from eastern Europe and its impact
on socio-demographic processes in these countries” was adopted on
4 October 2019 and I would like to draw attention to some specific
measures that need to be implemented in the Council of Europe member
States to ensure that children are protected from neglect and abandonment
that results from their parents’ migration for work.
8 In this resolution, the Assembly called for concerted action
by both sending and receiving countries to “alleviate the negative
impact of labour migration on the countries of origin, while doing
everything needed to preserve the positive aspects”. On the matter
of children left behind, the Assembly, as regards the sending countries:
“5.3. calls for the improvement
of social care and support systems in order to address and prevent
the abandonment and neglect of children left behind by parents working
abroad, which is detrimental to their development. Specific measures
are also needed during these children’s transition into adulthood. Systems
such as “SOS families” should be supported, allowing children to
stay in the system until they can be reunited with their parents.
All measures taken must be in the best interest of the child;
5.4. asks that measures be taken to ensure that children
left behind because of parents’ employment abroad do not drop out
of school or risk finding themselves in a lower level of education
as a result of this. Specific psychological support and counselling
should be provided in this context, as necessary;”
9 I welcome the report of Mr Badea and hope that it will help
raise public support to improve child protection in Europe. I would
like to propose only a few amendments to highlight some aspects
that require further attention. I invite the committee to support
these amendments, when voting for the final texts based on Mr Badea’s
report.
10 I should like to propose adding at the end of paragraph 1: “The Council of Europe member States need to
address the root causes of this situation and to provide specific
support to the left-behind children and their families, as underscored
by the Assembly in its Resolution 2310 (2019)
“Labour migration from eastern Europe and its impact on socio-demographic
processes in these countries”.” (Amendment
A to the draft resolution)
11 Mr Badea’s report rings the alarm bell about the high number
of families in Europe affected by labour migration today and the
children left behind. I suggest including a specific reference (from
his report) at the beginning of the draft Resolution, to further
highlight how dramatic the situation is in Europe
Note:
“Labour
migration has been growing across Europe, due to economic disparities
between countries and freedom of movement within the European Union.
For example, it is estimated that in Romania, Bulgaria and Poland
500 000 to 1 million children are affected. Such large-scale migration
has profound socio-economic consequences, both for the countries
of origin and of destination of labour migration”.
(Amendment B to the draft resolution)
12 I should also like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the
hardship of children in the regions affected by military conflicts.
I, therefore, propose adding a new paragraph in the draft Resolution,
after the one proposed in Amendment B, as follows: “Moreover, the Assembly is alarmed by the hardship
of children in the regions affected by military conflicts. Military
actions lead to displacement and migration, which put children at
risk of being left without parents. In Ukraine, many families are
separated because of the Russian aggression. Parents often stay
in the occupied territories while children are sent to live with
grandparents in the free territories”. (Amendment C to the draft resolution)
13 Both sending and receiving countries bear responsibility for
the fate of children deprived of their parents who went abroad to
work. I would like to stress this issue by including a new paragraph
after the paragraph suggested above: “Protecting
children from the adverse effects of labour migration should be
a priority for the Council of Europe member States. Specific obligations
should be entered into by receiving countries to refrain from policies
driven exclusively by economic interests, including the race for
the cheapest labour on the market. Such policies run to the detriment
of human rights protection commitments. By contrast, specific obligations should
be entered into by sending countries to reduce poverty of families
with children and to ensure that when children are left-behind the
State provides adequate protection for them”. (Amendment D to the draft resolution)
14 I suggest splitting paragraph 5.2.3. The first action proposed
addresses the situation of migrating parents, while the rest of
the paragraph speaks about actions to protect children. I suggest
deleting the words “reduce obstacles that discourage parents from informing
authorities about their departure” (Amendment E to the draft resolution) and
inserting a new paragraph that addresses this issue as follows:
“notify parents who intend to travel
abroad about social services that may be provided in their absence
for their children and their parenting obligations towards them;
ensure that adequate delegation of responsibility or guardianship
is in place and is in accordance with child’s best interest; create
opportunities for keeping contacts with children (including through
new technologies) using public service centres; and reduce obstacles
that discourage parents from informing the authorities about their
departure”. (Amendment
F to the draft resolution)
15 Given the lack of adequate and reliable data on left behind
children, more needs to be done to improve the sending countries’
capacity to record the data and implement support programmes leaving
no child behind. I, therefore, suggest adding in paragraph 5.2.3,
at the beginning of the sentence: “improve
data collection on left-behind children by social services and promote
evidence-based care provision, set up information management systems
to monitor the well-being of children who receive social services,
legal aid and guardianship as well as those who are not receiving
such services or aid”. (Amendment
G to the draft resolution)
16 In its
Resolution
2310 (2019), paragraph 5.5, the Assembly also “encourages public
authorities to set up support systems for potential labour migrants,
providing clear information on opportunities and risks associated with
labour migration, including through public awareness campaigns.”
I should also like to stress the need to give children adequate
information in a manner they can understand. I should, therefore,
like to propose adding, at the end of paragraph 5.2.3: “
Furthermore, adequate
information on available support should be provided to children
in a manner they can understand, appropriate for their age and education
level”.
(Amendment H to
the draft resolution)
17 Mr Badea underscored the risk of child suicide with left behind
children. As stated in his report, 80 Romanian children, whose parents
worked in Italy, had committed suicide. States should therefore
do more to prevent this. School psychologists or medical workers
should act promptly to detect and prevent child neglect and abandonment.
Unfortunately, the lack of funding in education has deprived many
schools, especially those located in rural areas, of competent psychologists.
Teachers are often asked to do more, including provide psychological
support, even though some lack adequate preparation for that. School
psychologists or medical workers are better placed. They do not
give children marks for their homework and are more approachable than
teachers. I should, therefore, like to propose including in paragraph
5.2.4, after “preventing school dropout”: “,
strengthen the capacity of education professionals, school psychologists
and medical workers to detect and prevent child neglect and abandonment”. (Amendment I to the draft resolution)
18 States should also pay greater attention to gendered implications
and the feminisation of migration. The 2015 Migration Policy Institute
study had shown that women comprised 48% of the international migrants worldwide,
and as high as 70% in some countries. Many studies have found that
maternal migration, which was growing, had a stronger negative impact
on children left behind. However, women have generally been found to
be more responsible migrants – remitting a larger portion of their
earnings, keeping in touch more frequently, and staying loyal to
their partners and families
Note. Certain trends in the feminisation
of migration and rise in children left behind transcended national
borders. The growing number of children left behind amid the feminisation
of migration sets the stage for targeted in-country policies for
monitoring and assisting transnational families, with a particular
focus on migrant mothers and their left-behind children. I, therefore, suggest
adding the following sentence: “
Taking
into account the gendered implications and the feminisation of migration,
introduce specific support measures in the wider frameworks of action
to support women, assisting them to maintain contact with their
children as much as possible (including using new technologies)
and favouring family reunification whenever possible”. (Amendment J to the draft resolution)
19 Finally, given these considerations, I suggest including in
the draft Recommendation, paragraph 1, after the reference to Resolution
… (2020) on the Impact of labour migration on left-behind children,
the reference to
Resolution
2310 (2019), as follows:
“and to its Resolution 2310 (2019) on Labour migration from
eastern Europe and its impact on socio-demographic processes in
these countries”. (Amendment
K to the draft recommendation). The
draft Resolution put forward in the report by Mr Badea and the
Resolution 2310 (2019) are complementary and provide several specific recommendations
with a view to improving the protection of children’s rights in
Europe.
