Romania: Urgent Action Needed for Abandoned Children

A meeting of NGOs concerned about children’s rights in Romania took place yesterday in London to discuss and seek agreement on the principal issues affecting children in Romania, and propose solutions that the European Union and the Romanian government should address.

The grouping of NGOs, which includes among other CRIN members Amici dei Bambini, Children on the Edge and Link Romania, will meet regularly to share information about their work, identify priority areas and lobby the European Parliament and the Romanian government.

Yesterday, among various issues discussed, a prime focal point was their particular concern over the continuing problem of child abandonment in Romania.

In a 2005 report, The Situation of Child Abandonment in Romania UNICEF revealed that over 9,000 children were abandoned each year, a situation which hardly differs from 30 years ago. The same report showed there were approximately 37,000 orphaned or abandoned children in the country today (living in State institutions), an additional 49,000 living in temporary arrangements (such as foster care), and an unknown number of children living on the streets and in maternity and paediatric hospitals.

Abandoned children suffer injustice from birth. Most of them do not have birth certificates, without which they literally do not exist as citizens in the eye of the State. This means that it is extremely difficult for those children to get access to education and free medical care. They also face the prospect of spending many damaging years in State orphanages - which are often understaffed and lack funding - and temporary living arrangements, in a country where child abuse is not considered as a crime by the justice system. The legal system also works against the welfare of children, as it allows birth parents to claim back custody over their abandoned child even while she/he has been placed in a foster family.

Continuous high rates of child abandonment in Romania are caused by pervading and lasting poverty, which needs to be addressed in the long term by the government and the international community at large. In the meantime, the hardships and abuse experienced by abandoned Romanian children could be remedied by additional funding and legal reform.

The group is intending to take further action in the coming weeks. Any action or communication will be posted on the CRIN website.

For more information, contact:

Robin Nydes
Foundation for the Relief of Disabled Orphans
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7937 8060
Email: robin@frodokids.org