The Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR is a partner organization in a two-year project on “Children’s Alternatives to Detention protecting their Rights in Europe (CADRE)” led by the International Commission of Jurists - European Institutions (ICJ-EI). The project runs as of February 2021 and seeks to promote the expansion, implementation and improvement of viable and effective alternatives to detention for migrant children in full respect of their rights in the European Union.

This effort aims to contribute to ending the resort to detention of children in migration by promoting viable alternatives to detention, meaning arrangements which can ensure the children’s well-being and rights under EU and international law.

The project targets seven focus  countries – Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Hungary and Italy. It is implemented in collaboration with national partner organisations: Aditus (Malta), Foundation for Access to Rights (Bulgaria), Greek Council for Refugees (Greece), Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland), Defence for Children International - Belgium, Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Hungary), and the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) (Italy) and supported by the participation of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum-Seekers (Malta).

Within this project the partners aim to train professionals who work with migrant children, and on detention and alternatives to detention in the focus countries, namely public officials, civil society organisations, lawyers and judges – on the human rights implications of alternatives to detention, by instilling a child-rights culture centered around their best interests and access to child-friendly procedures. The project aims to equip these participants with awareness of and access to best practices and standards, skills and ability to implement them, and to foster a transnational and multidisciplinary community of experts from different backgrounds for mutual support and exchange on developments in the field.

In doing so, the project aims to ensure an effective and consistent application of EU and international law and standards on alternatives to detention, benefitting migrant children at risk of being detained or whose rights may be violated in alternatives to detention, in the focus countries, and in the long-term, across the EU more generally.

The project partners will:

• hold three transnational workshops attended by at least 60 experts from seven EU countries followed by several online public conferences/talks;
• develop four training modules translated into six different languages and other e-learning tools;
• hold national trainings in the five focus countries, and
• widely disseminate all publications and materials, including through developing a webpage with a database and videos.

The events marking the end of the CADRE project will be held on 23 and 24 January 2023, online and in Radisson Red Hotel in Brussels. You can register for the events through the links in the files below. 

The first debate, on 23 January, brings together highly respected international and national experts, from the field of child psychology, who will discuss their own findings or present relevant research on the impact of detention on children. 

Information for registration and agenda:

Psychological impact of detention on children in migration, 23 January 2023 г.

During the final event on 24 January a discussion will be held with EU institutions – the European Parliament and the European Commission – on current legislative proposals, the alternatives to detention of children in migration and the ways forward. 

Information for registration and agenda:

Final Event, 24 January 2023 г.

Module I. Care of Migrant Children: the need for alternatives to detention

Module II. Alternatives to Detention: practical example of care of migrant children

Module III. Appropriate Procedures to guarantee access to effective remedies for migrant children in detention and when subject to alternatives to detention

Module IV: How to communicate and work with children subject to alternatives to detention

In Bulgarian:

Модул I. Грижа за деца мигранти: необходимостта от алтернативи на задържането

Модул II. Алтернативи на задържането: практически пример за грижа за деца мигранти

Модул III. Подходящи процедури за гарантиране на достъп до ефективни средства за защита при задържане на деца мигранти и при прилагане на алтернативи на задържането спрямо тях

Модул IV. Как да общуваме и да работим с деца, спрямо които се прилагат алтернативи на задържането

In Greek:

Eνότητα I. Φροντίδα παιδιών μεταναστών: η ανάγκη για εναλλακτικές λύσεις αντί της κράτησης

Eνότητα II. Εναλλακτικά της κράτησης μέτρα: Πρακτικά προβλήματα της φροντίδας των παιδιών μεταναστών

Eνότητα III. Κατάλληλες διαδικασίες για την εξασφάλιση της πρόσβασης σε αποτελεσματικά ένδικα μέσα για κρατούμενα παιδιά μετανάστες και όταν υποβάλλονται σε εναλλακτικά της κράτησης μέτρα

Eνότητα IV. Πως να επικοινωνείτε και να εργάζεστε με παιδιά που υποβάλλονται σε εναλλακτικά της κράτησης μέτρα

In Polish

Module I. Opieka nad dziećmi będącymi migrantami: potrzeba stosowania środków alternatywnych

Module II. Środki alternatywne wobec detencji: praktyczny przykład opieki nad dziećmi będącymi migrantami

Module III. Odpowiednie procedury gwarantujące dostęp do skutecznych środków ochrony prawnej dzieciom będącym migrantami, w stosunku do których zastosowano detencję albo środki alternatywne wobec detencji

Module IV. Jak komunikować się i pracować z dziećmi, w stosunku do których stosowane są środki alternatywne wobec detencji?

In French:

Module I. Prise en charge des enfants en situation de migration : la nécessité d’alternatives à la détention

Module II. Alternatives à la détention: exemple pratique de prise en charge d’enfants en situation de migration

Module III. Procédures appropriées pour garantir l’accès à des recours utiles pour les enfants en détention et lorsqu’ils sont soumis à des alternatives à la détention dans un contexte migratoire

Module IV. Comment communiquer et travailler avec des enfants soumis à des mesures alternatives à la détention?

In Dutch:

Module I. Opvang van migrantenkinderen: de behoefte aan alternatieven voor detentie

Module II. Alternatieven voor detentie: praktisch voorbeelden van opvang van migrantenkinderen

Module III. Passende procedures om de toegang tot doeltreffende rechtsmiddelen te waarborgen voor migrantenkinderen in detentie en wanneer zij aan alternatieven voor detentie worden onderworpen

Module IV. Hoe te communiceren en te werken met kinderen onderworpen aan alternatieven voor detentie

 

Watch the videos here:

Module I

Module II

Module III

Module IV

 

On June 30, 2022, within this project, we presented the prepared training modules at an event in Sofia. Photos from the event can be found here. The training modules were presented by Valeria Ilareva, Chairperson of the Management Board and Chief Lawyer of FAR, Valeri Petkov, lawyer and researcher at FAR, Rositsa Atanasova, researcher and Mimosa Dimitrova, psychotherapist.

On March 23, 2021, FAR held an expert meeting to discuss national training needs in the field of alternatives to detention of migrant children. The meeting was attended by a total of 36 experts from the government and the civil sector in Bulgaria - the State Agency for Refugees, the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, the State Agency for Child Protection, Child Protection Departments of the Social Assistance Agency, the Ombudsman, UNHCR, the National Network for Children, Reachout Foundation, Bulgarian Red Cross and lawyers. You can find the presentation of the Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR, presented at the meeting here.

 

This project was funded by European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. The content of this publication represents the views of FAR and is its sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.