CASE STUDYREFUGEE CRISIS: #Protection of Refugee Children
YOUR TASK: You are preparing a dialogue between the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and the Head of EU Delegation in Armenia to discuss EU budget sector support for the Integrated Social Services reform in the country.
In line with the EU’s priorities on migration and child protection, you would like to support the inclusion of protection mechanisms for refugee children in the social services reform.
You need to: (1) Prepare a three-minutes pitch to convince the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs about the need to introduce integration programmes for refugee children in the social services reform. (2) Identify key stakeholders that should be invited to the Coordination Council on the Social Services Reform which will provide guidance to the EU budget sector support programme.
Context: Armenia
-Armenia has always been involved in international migration flows due to various reasons. An average of 35,000 people have been emigrating annually from Armenia in the period 2007-2013. Children of 0-14 constituted 5.2% of the total of migrants in the same time period.
-Armenia has been mainly an emigration country, with very small inflows due to its socio-economic situation. State Migration Service data suggests that in 2005-2011, 851 Iraqi citizens of Armenian origin requested asylum and in 829 cases such asylum was granted; while 179 Ukrainians have sought protection in Armenia from the beginning of 2014 until June 2015. According to the Government of Armenia, since the start of the conflict in Syria 17,000 Syrian citizens, primarily of ethnic Armenian background, have arrived in Armenia, out of which app. 13,000 displaced persons remained and found protection (as of July 2015). There is no clear and consistent data on the number of refugee and asylum-seeker children.
-Refugee children are facing a number of issues related to integration and psycho-social well-being. The drop-out rate of children from refugee families is 2-3 times higher than that of Armenian nationals. Insufficient livelihoods mean that refugee families are unable to cover essential costs such as textbooks and clothing leading to poor completion rates. They often do not receive adequate health care or psychological support. The issue of integration of youth is also a concern for parents. Family separation is also an issue, in many cases wives and children were left in Armenia while men returned to their home country to protect property and business or moved on to a third country for better livelihood opportunities.
-Important steps towards the improvement of social protection services in Armenia were undertaken with UNICEF and World Bank support in 2010, with the introduction of the reform of Integrated Social Services (ISS), which focuses on the provision of social services to the most vulnerable families and groups of the population through proper identification of their social needs and strengthening of their autonomy, self-reliance and coping capacities. The ISS reform introduced professional and accountable case managers at territorial level, and the development of Local Social Plans at regional level, as well as outlines the notion of institutional cooperation among various social service providers for responding to the needs of the most vulnerable families and children.
-The institutional framework in Armenia in the areas of migration and asylum are complex. The overall coordination and the development of migration policies in Armenia lie with the State Migration Service, a state agency operating under the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations. Efforts to strengthen cooperation among all the actors involved in managing migration are critical for improved protection of the rights of migrant and displaced populations.
Reference documents
-United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted in 1951:
Principle of unity of the family: Governments to take the necessary measures for the protection of the refugee’s family especially with a view to:
(1) Ensuring that the unity of the refugee’s family is maintained particularly in cases where the head of the family has fulfilled the necessary conditions for admission to a particular country,
(2) The protection of refugees who are minors, in particular unaccompanied children and girls, with special reference to guardianship and adoption.
-Law of the Republic of Armenia on Refugees and Asylum:
Article 23. Right to social security and medical care (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in charge of taking measures for the realization of this right)
1. Refugees who have been granted asylum in the Republic of Armenia shall have the right to benefit from social services stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia for nationals of the Republic of Armenia, to receive state benefits and other financial assistance, benefits granted for cases of temporary inability to work, employment injury in production, accidents and occupational diseases, to receive free medical care and services guaranteed by the State, as well as shall have the right to pension security and to social protection in case of unemployment as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, if they fulfil the requirements prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia governing the relevant field.
2. Asylum seekers and refugees who have not been granted asylum in the Republic of Armenia shall have the right -- equal to that of nationals of the Republic of Armenia - - to receive free medical care and services guaranteed by the State, if they fulfil the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia governing that field.
Article 31 - integration programmes (new provision in the amended law subject for approval in 2016)
-Law on Social Assistance of the Republic of Armenia from December 2014: institutionalizing case management, local social planning and institutional cooperation among social services for responding to the needs of the most vulnerable, with clear links to the child protection system.