UNICEF in Bulgaria for refugee and migrant children

From armed conflict to natural disasters, climate change and political instability, the modern world presents children with many challenges.

Bulgaria is an external border of the European Union and is located on the threshold of the Eastern Mediterranean migration route. The country is one of the main countries through which refugees and people seeking salvation from persecution and conflict arrive in the EU. The number of people coming from Turkey to seek protection in Bulgaria began to increase in the middle of 2020, despite the restrictive measures, related to Covid-19.

The war in Ukraine also forced millions of people, 90% of them women and children, to emigrate and seek refuge in Bulgaria. Never before have so many children been forced to flee their homelands to save their lives. They are at risk of violence and exploitation by smugglers and traffickers, detention, and lack of long-term solutions for their future.

In recent years, the escalation of international and internal conflicts has forced more than 50,000 people, 13,000, of whom – children, to seek international protection in Bulgaria.

Since 2017, the number of unaccompanied children has increased significantly and is currently about 70% of the total number of children applying for international protection.

The lack of legal routes to Bulgaria exposes refugee children, incl. unaccompanied children at risk of becoming victims of violence, abuse, and exploitation. Furthermore, being forced to start a new live in a new country, without knowing the language and culture, as well as the loss of loved ones and friends, puts refugee children in extreme vulnerability.

Every child fleeing their home country because of conflict or war has the right to immediate protection and support to stay safe and overcome the psychological trauma they have experienced.

Protection of refugee and migrant children

See what UNICEF is doing in Bulgaria.

Every child has the right to protection, care and all the support and services they need to develop.

Together with the government, local authorities, civil society organizations, professional associations, other UN agencies, UNICEF works to provide effective care and protection to refugee and migrant children in order to guarantee their rights and meet their specific needs.

The main components of UNICEF's Refugee and Migrant Children Protection Programme are:

Strengthening the migration and reception system and the child protection system working with refugee and migrant children, incl. unaccompanied children.
Identification of unaccompanied children and monitoring of detention centres for immediate release from immigration detention upon identification of unaccompanied children.
Support for improving the quality of services provided by lawyers representing unaccompanied refugee children in Bulgaria.
Improving the conditions for initial admission of unaccompanied children by building a Safe Zone for them in the largest registration and reception center for refugees part of the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers;
Support for providing access to alternative care and social services for children refugees and migrants, incl. unaccompanied children, under the protection system.
Providing psycho-social support and various adaptation and integration activities that support the overcoming of traumas and children's development, as well as their inclusion in the Bulgarian educational system and society.