Views from the field on child identity violations by Madame Maud de Boer-Buquicchio

As President of Missing Children in Europe, Madame Maud de Boer-Buquicchio*, joined a team of experts in Poland to understand and assess the situation of the children displaced within Ukraine and/or entering Europe, with a particular focus on the risk of children going missing and being trafficked.

From the field, she observed that despite the outpour of good will and generosity – both from government, municipalities, civil society and in particular volunteers – the lack of identification documents and gaps in the registration processes at the border and of assessment of credibility of accompanying adults, has led to thousands of children being subject to greater risks of rights violations including abuse, exploitation and trafficking. It also means that children may “disappear” due to the absence of immediate referral to child protection systems in countries of arrival and the impossibility to track the child’s journey and confirm that they have arrived at a safe destination. She warned against the risk of placement of children in foster care or for adoption and appointment of guardians outside national legal frameworks.

During her meetings with the international community and other actors, Madame Maud de Boer-Buquicchio equally raised concerns about the fate of children born through surrogacy, stressing the immediate necessity to ensure their safety, including through evacuation abroad, noting their right to survival, development and well-being. She noted that legal parentage questions should be considered only after these pressing needs have been met and based on a best interest assessment/determination emphasising that all children’s rights should be respected, such as preservation of their identity and not to be sold.

Madame de Boer-Buquicchio concluded her visit by underscoring the need to safeguard all identity documents of all Ukrainians, especially all children as one means of preventing further harm and investing in existing systems that can do this, when fully equipped.

*Also President of Child Identity Protection and ECPAT

Further information : https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1946 and https://missingchildreneurope.eu/ukraine/