Refugees: Ukraine war: EU wants to protect children from human trafficking

Refugees: Ukraine war: EU wants to protect children from human trafficking

Having escaped from the war, children and young people from Ukraine face the next danger: EU Interior Commissioner Johansson warns of criminals who pretend to be relatives of orphans.

EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson has urgently called for better protection for fleeing Ukrainian children from human traffickers.

“We know that unaccompanied minors are unfortunately particularly at risk of becoming victims of criminals in such situations,” said Johansson in the European Parliament. There are reports of criminals who, since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, have pretended to be relatives of orphans and then exploited them in other countries.

“You know that human trafficking is the most profitable crime of all,” Johansson said to MEPs. Drugs or weapons can each be sold once. “Whoever deals in children can sell them again and again and again and again. We have a duty to protect these children.” Much more needs to be done than before.

It is not yet known how many children are among those fleeing Ukraine, but she assumes almost half, said Johansson. The EU Commissioner demanded that they all still need a basic level of normality after they have fled and must be able to go to school.

UN: 29 minors killed since war began

The High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented the deaths of 474 civilians – including 29 minors – in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24. The office also had verified information about 861 injured people, including more than 40 minors.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, emphasizes that the actual numbers are certainly much higher. Employees often needed days to check the number of victims. The High Commissioner only reports death and injury figures that it has independently verified itself.

“Most of the civilian casualties were caused by the use of long-range explosive weapons, including heavy artillery and rocket launcher fire, as well as missile and airstrikes,” Bachelet’s office said.

The office also provided a regional breakdown: 72 people died in government-controlled zones in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country, 24 in the territory of the self-proclaimed republics recognized by Russia. 378 deaths were registered in other parts of the country, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson.

Source: Stern

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