500 foreign migrant children and young people will be helped to access their fundamental rights and public services in our country through the PROMISE project - the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors.
The project is carried out by Terre des hommes Foundation and JRS Association (Jesuit Service for Refugees in Romania), between May 2022 and October 2023, with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014-2021.
The PROMISE project aims to improve the access of minors and young migrants to fundamental rights and public services through advocacy activities, providing free legal assistance services, information, training and increasing the capacity of vulnerable groups to participate in the decision-consultative process. It also aims to support inter-institutional collaboration between public and foreign institutions to ensure respect for the interests of minors, as well as to improve policies, practices, attitudes and legislation.
We believe the voice of young refugees needs to be heard, this is why we created an Advisory Forum for Migrants in Romania, It will be formed of representatives of migrant communities and young migrants who will learn how to represent their community in respecting their rights, how to establish a viable relationship with the host society, and will be invited to participate in debates about the policies that concern them.
Thus, through this project, 500 minors and young foreigners aged between 12 and 26 years will be helped, while 1.000 migrants will be informed about their rights. At least 25 cases of unaccompanied minors will be assisted by professionals, at least 10 lawyers will be trained and will help create positive practices. Also, we will reach about 50 students from Law, lawyers, representatives of institutions and organizations with competences in the issue of minors, parents and legal representatives of unaccompanied minors.
The project activities will take place in the cities of Timișoara, Baia Mare and Șomcuţa-Mare, Rădăuţi, Giurgiu, Arad, Otopeni, Galați, Constanța, Brăila, Tulcea, Vrancea, Bacău, Vaslui and Bucharest.
The situation of refugee children is increasingly worrying in the current context. One in three children living outside their home country is a refugee, international statistics show. Since the end of February 2022, 1,356,564 refugees have arrived in Romania, of which approx. 314,000 children (29.39%) and 580,000 women (54.29%), as of 14 July 2022. There are currently 83,936 Ukrainian refugees in Romania.
The PROMISE project is carried out by Terre des hommes Foundation in partnership with the JRS Association (Jesuit Refugee Service in Romania), with the support of the Active Citizens Fund Romania program, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The content of this press release does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021.
About the Active Citizens Fund Romania Program
The Active Citizens Fund Romania program is funded through the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The overall objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities and to strengthen bilateral relations between the 15 beneficiary states and the donor states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The program is administered by the consortium composed of the Civil Society Development Foundation, the Partnership Foundation, the Resource Center for Roma Communities, PACT Foundation and Frivillighet Norge, acting as a Fund Operator designated by FMO – The Office of the Financial Mechanism of the EEA and Norway Grants. Active Citizens Fund Romania aims to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and increase the capacity of vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of EUR 46,000,000, the programme aims to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, intensifying its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship and human rights, while strengthening bilateral relations with the donor states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information about the Active Citizens Fund in Romania, please visit www.activecitizensfund.ro For more information about the EEA and Norway Grants, visit www.eeagrants.ro
Terre des hommes Foundation aims to improve the child protection system and has set the support of children affected by migration as a priority, as well as the prevention of insecure migration of young people and ensuring access to the fundamental rights of migrant children.
Terre des hommes (Tdh) is a non-governmental organisation for the protection of children's rights, with an active delegation in Romania since 1992. Currently, Tdh is among the few organizations in Romania that carry out special projects for children affected by migration or children who come into contact with justice. Every year, thousands of children and parents are beneficiaries of Tdh's activities in these areas. The organization uses innovative principles such as mentoring, children's participation in society, Movement, Play and Sport methodology. Tdh also contributes to the improvement of the child protection system and to the reform of social assistance, and regularly publishes free resources for professionals, but also for children and parents, promoting respect for the rights of all children. For more details, go to www.tdh.ro.
JRS (Association Jesuit Refugee Service in Romania) is an organization aimed at defending, supporting and promoting fundamental human rights, especially refugees - in the broad sense, asylum seekers, migrants. The organization offers direct assistance, develops advocacy, public policy monitoring, information campaigns, training.
For further information about the PROMISE project, please visit:
https://www.tdh.ro/ro/promise-protectia-minorilor-straini-neinsotiti
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