Impact of labour migration on “left-behind” children
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 19 March 2021 (see Doc. 15173, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Mr Viorel Riceard Badea; and Doc. 15183, opinion of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Mr Oleksii Goncharenko).See
also Recommendation 2196
(2021).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is concerned
about the devastating impact of poverty-driven labour migration
on the children left behind when their parents emigrate and who
are often deprived of basic care, protection and support. The scale
of this phenomenon is alarming in some countries, with up to one
third of adults working abroad. However, “left-behind” children
remain largely invisible in public discourse and policy making.
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) on
labour migration from eastern Europe and its impact on socio-demographic
processes in these countries.
2. The Assembly deplores the complacency of both countries of
origin and countries of destination of labour migration, which tend
to tolerate excessive labour migration as it has significant short-term
benefits in the form of remittances for the former, and of a cheap,
flexible labour force for the latter. This situation is not acceptable, and
it is not sustainable. Leaving millions of children without parental
care is a mass violation of human rights and an unnecessary threat
to the stability and prosperity of our countries.
3. 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, while in
Ukraine the estimate is approximately 9 million. Such large-scale
migration has profound socio-economic consequences, both for the
countries of origin and those of destination of labour migration.
4. 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. Many families are separated because
of ongoing frozen or protracted conflicts across Europe.
5. 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 are
contrary to human rights protection commitments. In addition, specific
obligations should be entered into by sending countries to reduce
the poverty rates of families with children and to ensure that when children
are left behind the State provides adequate protection for them.
6. All the Council of Europe member States have ratified the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and have undertaken
to respect the rights enshrined in this convention, including the
right to life, survival, and development of the child. (Article
6), the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents (Article
7), the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of health (Article 24), the protection from all forms of violence
(Article 19) and from all forms of exploitation (Article 36). More
needs to be done to ensure effective implementation of these commitments
with respect to the children left behind. Such action is also essential
for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
including Goal 1 “No poverty”, Goal 3 “Good health and well-being”
and Goal 8 “Decent work and economic growth”.
7. The Assembly is convinced that targeted ad hoc measures are
not enough to improve the situation. To maximise the benefits of
labour migration, while eliminating its harmful consequences on
children left behind, all countries need to acknowledge the scale
of this phenomenon and the long-term damage it creates, and to put
into place comprehensive approaches to labour migration that are
child centred, human rights based, gender sensitive and socially
and economically sustainable.
8. To this end, the Assembly urges member States:
8.1 with respect to addressing the
“care drain” and poverty-driven labour migration:
8.1.1 in
line with the United Nations SDG Target 10.7 “Facilitate orderly,
safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people,
including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration
policies”, ensure that relevant policies are in line with international standards,
such as the Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration of the International
Labour Organization, and are coherent, effective and fair;
8.1.2 reduce reliance on migrant labour by developing effective
public social services, such as child and elderly care, and by improving
working conditions and remuneration in labour-intensive sectors;
favour community-based services and non-institutional care; invest
in strategies to reduce unemployment and in-work poverty; increase
public spending on social services, including by means of improving
tax collection rates and fighting tax evasion and corruption;
8.1.3 promote public discourse on labour migration that is based
on human rights, acknowledges the structural conditions and public
responsibility for excessive labour migration, prevents stigmatisation
of left-behind children and their families, encourages solidarity
and builds public support for anti-poverty strategies;
8.1.4 support co-operation between countries of origin and destination
of labour migration, in particular by means of bilateral and regional
agreements while taking into account the current demographic challenges;
8.2 with respect to strengthening child protection:
8.2.1 improve legal frameworks and facilitate the application
of the law in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, with a focus on the best interests of the child
and the right to be heard, and ensuring that children are treated
as individual rights holders; implement and review relevant policies
in consultation with the diaspora communities and civil society
organisations representing migrants and their families; and ensure
that relevant institutions, including human rights bodies and ombudspersons
for children’s rights, address the situation of left-behind children
and work in a co-ordinated manner;
8.2.2 privilege labour migration which enables children to migrate
together with their parents if they so wish, giving migrant families
access to all relevant social rights guaranteed in the European
Social Charter (revised) (ETS No. 163), including to social protection,
healthcare and education;
8.2.3 notify parents who intend to emigrate about social services
that may be provided for their children in their absence and their
parenting obligations towards them; ensure that adequate delegation
of responsibility or guardianship is in place and is in accordance
with a child’s best interests; 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;
8.2.4 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; deliver appropriate support
to left-behind children and their carers, including social, psychological
and legal services, with particular attention paid to grandparents; set
up helplines, online platforms and day-care centres for left-behind
children, and avoid institutionalisation of children; facilitate
evidence-based reporting of known or suspected child abuse or neglect;
prevent and combat child trafficking, abuse and exploitation, including
sexual exploitation, in line with the Council of Europe Convention
on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197) and
the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201, “Lanzarote Convention”); furthermore,
adequate information should be provided to children in a manner
they can understand and that is appropriate for their age and education
level;
8.2.5 take measures to promote equal opportunities for left-behind
children, in particular by guaranteeing continued contact with their
parents, ensuring access to education, supporting quality educational
outcomes, providing tutoring and preventing school dropout; strengthen
the capacity of education professionals, school psychologists and
medical workers to detect and prevent child neglect and abandonment;
and address negative public health concerns, including mental health
issues, eating disorders, substance abuse and early pregnancies;
8.2.6 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;
8.3 with respect to family reunification:
8.3.1 review
relevant policies to ensure their compliance with international
standards on family reunification, including the United Nations
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the European
Social Charter (revised);
8.3.2 develop strategies for family reunification, which address
the existing obstacles, are sustainable and build public support
for integration of migrants and their families; promote legal avenues
for migration to prevent human trafficking, irregular work and exploitative
conditions of employment; improve access to social and education
services, and to appropriate reception facilities for migrants,
such as housing and childcare centres;
8.4 with respect to the situation of left-behind children
and their families in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic:
8.4.1 break the vicious cycle of income loss, job insecurity
and stigmatisation of this vulnerable group by adapting the national
legal framework to the challenges brought by the current global
sanitary crisis;
8.4.2 ensure appropriate assistance to vulnerable households
that have been affected by the sharp decrease in their remittances;
8.5 with respect to Council of Europe and United Nations instruments
and institutions:
8.5.1 make full use of the European Social
Charter (revised), the Lanzarote Convention, the Council of Europe
Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”), the Council of Europe
Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and Recommendation
CM/Rec(2011)12 of the Committee of Ministers on children’s rights
and social services friendly to children and families;
8.5.2 sign and ratify the 2011 Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189)
of the International Labour Organization and support its effective
implementation.
9. The Assembly takes note of European Union legislation and
guidance on labour migration, including on the subjects of posted
workers, cross-border workers, seasonal workers and domestic workers
and expresses its hope that all these tools will become useful in
practice for improving the situation of left-behind children. It calls
for closer co-operation between the European institutions with a
view to harmonising relevant approaches between the European Union
and the Council of Europe member States that are not members of
the European Union.
