The Hearings of the Commissioner-Designates

The hearings to decide Barroso’s new Commission took place from 11 to 19 January. Each Commissioner-Designate spent three hours in front of the European Parliament’s relevant committees, answering both policy- and competency-related questions from MEPs.

Catherine Ashton, nominee for the newly created post of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, spoke about her vision for the European External Action Service. She emphasised her desire to see the Member States and the Commission speak with one voice in foreign policy. However, as regards the division of roles between her and the Commissioners with related portfolios, she did clarify that she will be responsible for strategic direction while the Commissioners will work to deliver that. Save the Children welcomed Baroness Ashton’s wish to work with NGOs in promoting human rights and her willingness to discuss this issue with us.

Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner-Designate for Development, stressed the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals as, he argued, they are the only way to begin to eradicate poverty. He talked about the importance of coordinating EU aid to improve efficiency and ensuring other EU policies contribute to international development. Save the Children was encouraged to hear Piebalgs emphasising that health was a priority. He is keen to continue working with GAVI and the Global Fund in the fight against child killers and drew attention to the European Commission’s own work on HIV/AIDS which covers education, prevention and treatment. However, when questioned over the problem of the brain drain of healthcare workers from developing countries to the EU, his answer failed to offer any substantial policy responses.

Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner-Designate for Home Affairs, emphasised that her first priority coming into office would be to work on drafting the Stockholm Programme Action Plan in close collaboration with Commissioner Reding. Another priority is to draft an Internal Security Strategy with focus on fighting organised crime, including terrorism, human trafficking, child sexual abuse, child pornography, corruption, cybercrimes and drugs. She underlined the importance of migrants for European countries’ economies and the need for harmonised EU legislation based on responsibility, predictability, solidarity and respect for human rights. Malmström spoke about Europe’s duty to assist and protect asylum seekers and refugees and expressed her will to strengthen cooperation with transit countries (Libya in particular), to encourage more solidarity between Member States and improve resettlement programs. Save the Children welcomes Cecilia Malmström intention to submit an Action Plan on unaccompanied minors, legislation on child sexual abuse and on trafficking with hopes that these measures will contribute to ensuring the rights and protection of the respective target group.

Viviane Reding, Commissioner-Designate for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, confirmed her commitment to children’s rights and enhanced measures in this area. She expressed an interest in focusing on vulnerable children who are “invisible” in our societies such as children in detention centres and children in the street. She also committed to putting into place a cross-border child alert system to prevent and address child abduction. Reding will work with Cecilia Malmström to propose new legislation to combat trafficking as well as child sexual abuse, exploitation and child pornography. Save the Children welcomed Redings commitment to involving children and ensuring child friendly information.

The confirmation of the Commission has been delayed as Rumiana Jeleva (Commissioner- Designate for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response) withdrew her nomination amid claims of dishonesty over her financial interests. Kristalina Georgieva, vice-president of the World Bank, has been put forward as the new Bulgarian candidate. Her hearing has been scheduled for 3 February and the vote by the European Parliament on all the Commissioner-Designates is now expected on 9 February.

More information can be found here.

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Haiti earthquake: Children’s organisation adopt guidelines to protect children

The January 12 earthquake and multiple aftershocks created enormous devastation and loss of life in the heavily populated city of Port-au-Prince, and outlying areas. Devastation on this scale is likely to lead to the separation of large numbers of children. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of children may be separated from their parents and families and are at acute risk of trafficking, sexual exploitation and serious emotional distress.

Save the Children has accepted the United Nations' request to coordinate efforts to reunite separated children, and we are working alongside other international aid organizations, local organizations and the government of Haiti to assess the status and needs of children without parental care in centers and institutions, and to identify and register children separated from their families so they can be reunified.

A number of organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children, Terre des Hommes (TdH), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Vision International (WVI), Plan International, War Child UK, have come together to adopt a set of principles to ensure protection of children in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Separated children are among the most vulnerable; however separation should not be considered as the only risk to children, and action taken should address the wider range of risks facing children within this context. This may include children used for domestic purposes by non legitimate caregivers, unofficial institutions, children in conflict with the law, children in camp settings, children with disabilities etc.

Even during emergencies, all children have a right to a family and families have a right to care for their children. Unaccompanied and separated children should be provided with services aimed at reuniting them with their parents or customary care-givers as quickly as possible.   Interim care should be consistent with the aim of family reunification, and should ensure children’s protection and well-being.

Experience has shown that most separated children have parents or other family members willing and able to care for them.  Long-term care arrangements, including adoption, should therefore not be made during the emergency phase.

However, action to help separated children does require a long-term perspective and long-term commitment on the part of the organisations involved.  These organisations must also seek strong cooperation and coordination, and aim to speak with one voice. All actions should be properly coordinated with the government authorities, with the aim of building back a stronger child protection system.

The following key messages form an agreed platform for partner organisations.

Preventing separation:

It is always preferable for children to be cared for by their parents or other usual caregivers. Separating children from their parents or usual caregivers increases the likelihood of emotional and developmental problems.

Identification, tracing and family reunification:

If separation occurs, the Government and mandated agencies have the responsibility to provide special protection and care for children. They should register all unaccompanied, separated and orphaned children and make sure that they are provided with their essential basic needs as quickly as possible. Every effort should be made to trace a child's family and to reunite the child with his or her family, when it is in the best interest of the child.

Care arrangements Interim care:

Interim care must be provided for children separated from their families. This interim care should be provided by the child’s extended family or others close to the child where they can provide appropriate care.  Where this option is not in the best interests of the child, children may be placed with known and trusted families from the child's community or within foster families. Efforts need to be made to, as quickly as possible, trace children’s families and find durable solutions for children in interim care that are in their best interests.

Alternative care:

The institutionalization of children should be avoided and take into account the best interests of the child. Removal of children from familiar surroundings will increase their distress and hinder their recovery. The provision of care within foster families is preferable to institutional care, as it provides continuity in socialization and development.

Adoption:

Children who have become separated from their parents in an emergency situation cannot be assumed to be orphans and are not available for adoption. However well intentioned, it is difficult to determine the status of separated and unaccompanied children following a disaster. As long as the fate of a child's parents and/or other close relatives cannot be verified, each separated child must be considered as still having close relatives who are alive.

Calls for Moratorium on New Adoptions from Haiti

Save the Children is calling for a moratorium on any new adoptions of children affected by the earthquake to ensure every child has been given the best possible chance of being reunited with their family. This moratorium does not apply to children in Haiti already in the adoption process.

For those children who have indeed lost both parents, it is almost always in their best interests to remain with their relatives and extended families. UN guidelines recommend at least two years are spent tracing lost families before adoption should be considered.

According to Deb Barry, a child protection expert at Save the Children who is responding to the crisis in Haiti, "The instinct to swoop in and rescue children may be a natural impulse, but it cannot be the solution for the tens of thousands of children left vulnerable by the Haiti earthquake."

She cautioned, "Although it is unclear at the moment how many children have been separated from their families, the possibility of a child being mistakenly labeled an orphan in the chaotic aftermath of the disaster is incredibly high."

She added, "No matter how horrific the situation looks in Haiti to concerned observers, the full process of reuniting children with parents and relatives must be completed."

Save the Children is working quickly to uncover and gather information about 33 children reportedly stopped at the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic with members of an American organization attempting to take them out of the country illegally.

Here you can find the full texts of:

Statement on Child Protection in Haiti

Save the Children's Statement on Adoption in Haiti

Child Protection Working Group Guiding principles

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Haiti earthquake Save the Children Emergency Response

Save the Children has worked in Haiti continuously since 1978. Following the disaster, local staff members in Port-au-Prince have been joined by our international disaster response experts and are working in coordination with the Haitian government, donors, non-governmental organizations and communities to provide relief to children and families in Port-au-Prince and in nearby communities. Save the Children USA is leading our emergency response. We are distributing food, water, tents, household kits, hygiene kits, medicines and medical supplies and providing emergency health care.

Save the Children child protection teams are visiting camps, shelters, and communities across Haiti's earthquake zone to ensure the safety of children and to help unaccompanied children be reunited with relatives whenever possible. Children are always among the most vulnerable during emergencies. SC efforts focus on child protection and several Child Friendly Spaces have been opened in temporary shelters so that children can take part in structured, supportive activities to help them recover from what they’ve experienced. Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children and has trained social workers in providing psychosocial support to children, activities at our Child Friendly Spaces and child protection policies.

Save the Children was running education programmes in Haiti before the earthquake hit and believes that, during and after a disaster, education is a crucial part of the emergency response. School can protect children from physical harm, exploitation and violence, and offer psychological support and healing during and after the disaster. Providing temporary schooling for children also helps parents to begin to recover from the earthquake, bury their dead, and start to rebuild their lives. Temporary schooling has already been set up in child-friendly spaces for children, allowing them to establish a sense of routine in a supportive environment, and begin to recover.

Moreover, Save the Children has accepted the United Nation’s request to coordinate efforts to reunite separated children, and we are working alongside other international aid organizations, local organizations and the government of Haiti to assess the status and needs of children without parental care in centres and institutions, and to identify and register children separated from their families so they can be reunified.

SC has committed to a five-year “build back better” initiative, which will take us from the relief and recovery phase to working with families to rebuild their communities.

SC is pleased to see the prompt response of the European Union to the disaster. Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has defined the earthquake as “a massive humanitarian and political disaster” and have committed to work with the UN and the local leadership to help the Haitian population now and in the long term.

As of today, the EU has committed to € 196 million for immediate humanitarian assistance, €100 million for early non-humanitarian assistance and €200 million for the longer-term response.

Commissioner de Gucht will soon travel to Haiti to extend the EU's condolences and underline the EU commitment to the people of Haiti and coordinate the Commission’s efforts with EU representatives on the ground and the UN. Commissioner Ashton will also travel to Haiti “as soon as this will be appropriate”.

More Information on Save the Children response can be found here

More information on the EU response can be found here

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