01.02.2012 Tenth Inter-Agency meeting in Zakarpattia

From the 24 till 26 January, 2012 the tenth inter-agency meeting in Zakarpattia was attended by the UNHCR regional representative for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, Mr Oldrich Andrysek, the representative of the president of children's rights for Ukraine, Mr. Yuri Pavlenko, First Deputy of the Chairman of the Migration Service, Mr. Viktor Sheibut, the director of the department for Refugees, Ms. Natalia Naumenko as well as representatives of the Danish Refugee Council, the State Border Service, the International Organization for Migration, the Chief of the Children of Transcarpathian region, Public services, NEEKA and Caritas.

The following issues were discussed:

• The situation of children without adult supervision, as in the Transcarpathian region, and throughout Ukraine.

• procedure for readmission with the EU, processing refugee claims and immigration services of a procedure for judicial review;

• Identification of asylum seekers in mixed migration flows, including those who are suspected of illegally crossing the borders of the EU

Much attention was paid to the issue of protecting unaccompanied children who have applied for refugee status, including questions of procedure such as their access to a legal representative to ensure their basic needs and social rights. Non-governmental organizations as well government agencies took an active part in these discussions and it was widely agreed that there is an increased need in for joint effort in dealing with refugee issues. There was widely expressed desire and hope that cooperation between the wide range of actors who are active in this field will be streghtened.

12.08.11 Neeka Summer Camp Successfully Completed

The summer camp organised for local and refugee children in the Zakarpattia region has recently ended with great results. The summer camp's main themes were leadership, tolerance and environment protection. More then 70 children attended from a wide variety of nationalities and enthnicities including Ukrainians, Roma, Afghans, Iraqi's, Hungarians and Syrians. A great thank you to all participants including a dedicated group of Peace-corps volunteers who helped make this years summer camp a tremendous success.