The children refugees on the move, traveling alone, unaccompanied and their position in the

country, support and protection in Republic of Macedonia

Workshop organized by Save the Children 20-21 February 2017

MA Dragi Zmijanac

Millions of children as victims of war flee to other countries. Almost never in the history children
were exposed to such brutality as it has been these last few years, especially children refugees. They
are the most vulnerable population in wars, emergency crises and they are facing with dangers from
violence, abuse, illnesses, kidnapping and abducting. Traveling without their parents, the children
refugees are more exposed to danger from child trafficking, kidnapping and adoptions. The children
refugees who are traveling unaccompanied are in biggest danger from the traffickers.

The migrant crises that has been happening in Europe in the last two years brought number of risks
and dangers for thousands of unaccompanied children who came to Southeastern Europe, including
Macedonia. Europe is facing with the biggest crises these last few decades and Macedonia
inadvertently entered in the center of the crises. The First childrens embassy in the world
Megjashi reacted even in 2015 and demanded that no child would be allowed to transit without a
parent, guardian or close family member. What we, as First Childrens Embassy in the world
Megjashi most appeal is mobility and commitment of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child that they must
not allow their children to be exposed to the risk to be abused or separated from their families.

The disappearance of more than 10,000 refugee children, according to Europol, who traveled
unaccompanied by a parent or guardian in European countries is a devastating fact not only because
of the weakness and disorganization of security systems and security which should be guaranteed
child refugees passing through the Migrant route, but also for the lack of preparation and
organization of the countries to help them appropriately.

European countries including Macedonia as the countries that have ratified the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child become
accomplices in the disappearance of 10 thousand children from the map of Europe.

Shame and defeat for society and for all signatory countries of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child is to not know where these children are allowed to transit and to be trafficked by criminal
gangs who just know their route and the move.
The First Childrens Embassy in the World Megjashi, during its regular visits on the transit center
Tabanovce concluded that there was at least one child in continuance who was unaccompanied or
with illegal status. The standards for entering the country were violated and the children did not
have defined status: asylum seekers or children refugee. They had passed illegal border and they had
stayed in this transit center unaccompanied by a parent or a guardian. After the borders were closed
this problem exists in continuance. In the transit center there were always at least one child who
was not registered and it was without a parental care. The ombudsman was also familiar with this
problem about the children without status at the transit center Tabanovce.

The first childrens embassy in the world Megjashi still appeals that it should not be allowed children
to transit without a parent, a guarding or close member of family. Bureaucratic classifications should
not be an obstacle and should not put into question whether they are children migrants, refugees,
whether they are fleeing from war or economic migrants. Simply, the children are children above all
and they have to be priority to any country and it has to be ensured they will be secured and safe.
The biggest effort should be put into finding their own missing parents. Let us remind you once again
that unaccompanied children refugees are an easy prey to criminal gangs, exposed to serious risk of
exploitation, trafficking, child labor For these criminal gangs unaccompanied refugee children are
worth millions of euros and the gangs wait a moment to reach them. They operate in transit centers
and wherever there is a possibility where refugee children are moving. These organized criminal
structures that operate in routes where transit refugees on European land are closely tied to
criminal structures in Syria and Iraq from where they refugees come from. They receive information
and exploit the weaknesses of the countries through which these people transit as a possible way to
escape the hell of the war. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which recognized
the right of children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that
could be dangerous or hinder his education, or would be harmful to children's health or children's
physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development of all countries of the European Union and
the Republic of Macedonia as a signatory of the Convention and the Optional protocol are obliged to
guarantee to respect the best interests of children and child refugees and to enable them with
special protection and care.

What astounded us is not only the fact that Europol gave for the missing 10,000 children, but how it
is possible that criminal structures in the western European countries to incorporate in the security
system. How it is possible that the security system would be so porous, how can the gangs kidnap,
abduct and do child trafficking, organ trafficking, sex tourism, child prostitution, child pornography,
illegal adoption, abusing children and their labor by including children in working in big factories in
the clothes industry. It is obvious that the smuggling of children refugees is done by well-organized
structures who are very well connected. I think countries need each other to work together and to
exchange information for disrupting organized kidnapping, abduction and abuse of children
refugees, with a common goal to eliminate the sale of children, child pornography and obstruction
of the worst forms of child labor. Signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child should
provide security and to ensure that refugee children who are landing on European land are
guaranteed their safety and security and to be safe and secure not only while in transit, but also to
their final destination. Republic of Macedonia must guarantee that the country will protect the best
interest of the children refugees and that will enable them with special care and protection. The
childrens embassy Megjashi invoked Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
asked the state to take care of the needs of refugee children and especially to provide appropriate
psychological support to those children who suffered emotional or physical trauma.
By closing the borders the possibility of helping these children affected by war. Europe falls on the
examination of humanity, solidarity and help when someone is in desperate need of help. These
actions by closing the borders only deepens the agony of these sufferers, mostly of the children
refugees. Governments have an obligation and responsibility to respect international documents
ratified in their parliaments. We are reminding of the United Nations Convention to combat
trafficking in women and children adopted by the League of Nations in 1921, Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by the UN in 2000 with a purpose of bigger andbetter
cooperation in order to prevent and combat organized crime. It is complemented by the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (which is the
first instrument that addresses all aspects of trafficking, universal way that entered into force in
December 2013). We remind countries of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,
Sea and Air (which entered into force in January 2004).

Obligations arising from other international documents:

Convention on the prohibition of human trafficking and exploitation of prostitution of others, the
European Convention on adoption, Hague Convention on jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition
of decrees relating to adoptions, the Convention no. 138 of the International Labor Organization
Minimum Age for Employment and the European Social Charter, with particular reference to Article
7 concerning the right to protection of children and adolescents, the Convention on the Rights of the
Child supplemented by the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights
of the child which concerns the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. First
Children's Embassy in the World with a group of civil society organizations in the region such as the
Roma Center for Democracy in Serbia, Partner pr Fmijt Albania, Vive ZENE of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the Center for Peace and Tolerance in Kosovo designed a campaign WINK for HELP
with a purpose to create a body language as a sign for help when someone is in trouble. WINK for
HELP will be silent SOS signal to alert authorities when a person is in trouble. The aim of this
campaign is to prevent child trafficking especially trafficking with those transiting through Europe.
With the wink for HELP a universal SOS sign will be created, thus we believe that it will help prevent
the trafficking of children, their abduction, kidnapping and abuse.

MA Dragi Zmijanac,

President/CEO and Founder of the First Childrens Embassy in the World Megjashi