Roundup: UN agencies set up more support centers for refugees, migrants in Europe

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) are joining forces to set up special support centers for children and their families along the most frequently used migration routes in Europe as part of a joint effort for better protection for the rising numbers of children and others with specific needs arriving in Europe, a UN spokesman said here Friday.

Twenty Child and Family Support Hubs, to be known as "Blue Dots," will provide safe spaces for children and their families, where vital services such as counselling are available, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"The hubs aim to support vulnerable families on the move, especially the many unaccompanied or separated children at risk of sickness, trauma, violence, exploitation and trafficking," the spokesman said.

The first hubs are now operational or about to open in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, he said. "All 20 will be operational within the next three months."

The hubs are established at a time when women and children account for two thirds of those crossing to Europe. And last year, more than 90,000 unaccompanied or separated children registered and applied for asylum or were in care in Europe.

The centers will also aim to identify and protect children and adolescents travelling alone, and reunite them with family wherever possible.

"We are concerned about the welfare of unaccompanied boys and girls on the move and unprotected across Europe, many of whom have experienced war and hardship in making these journeys alone," said UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk. "The hubs will play a key role in identifying these children and providing the protection they need in an unfamiliar environment, where they may be at risk."

"The lives of children on the move have been turned upside down, they have faced turmoil and distress every step of the way. The hubs will offer a level of predictability, certainty and safety in their uncertain lives, a place where they can get the help and support that is every child's right. And they will contribute to stronger national child protection systems," said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF's special coordinator for the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe.

Meanwhile, the agencies underscored that identifying children in need is challenging. In some countries, young travellers pretend to be adults to avoid being delayed or detained on their journey, exposing them to the risk of exploitation.

The hubs will be located in select strategic sites -- border entry/exit points, registration sites and some strategic urban centers -- as well as through mobile/outreach teams.

The services include restoring family links -- services provided by the Red Cross and Red Crescent network; family reunification; child-friendly spaces and dedicated mother and baby/toddler spaces; private rooms for counselling; psycho-social first aid; legal counselling; safe spaces for women and children to sleep; outreach social workers; and an information desk with Wi-Fi connectivity.

More than one million people "refugees and migrants" arrived by land and sea to the European Union in 2015, with the vast majority of people -- 821,008-- landing in Greece.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, 100,000 have arrived in Greece from the Mediterranean since the start of the year, a tenfold increase on the same period last year, and 413 people lost their lives during migration. Endit