Children arrived in Portugal as ‘unaccompanied minors’

15 Ukrainian children need foster families. 

They arrived in Portugal without being accompanied by family members and are currently under the protection of the CPCJ (Commission for Protection of Children and Young People) and Justice ministry, in articulation with social security and Lisbon’s charitable organisation Misericórdia.

Minister for Internal Administration José Luís Carneiro told a parliamentary hearing today tasked with considering the government’s proposed State budget that efforts are being made to find “host families who guarantee the protection (of the children’s fundamental rights)”.

These 15 minors are just a tiny fraction of the 12,500 that have arrived since the start of the war in Ukraine.

A total of 500 have reached this country without a father or mother, but the vast majority of these were in the company of other relatives.

This final 15 are those that weren’t.

Mr Carneiro has also told the hearing that SEF (borders and immigration agency) has not recorded any cases of Ukrainian minors in Portugal who have been subject to human trafficking.

As of the latest data, Portugal has offered temporary protection to just under 35,000 Ukrainians – a situation that has seen support networks on the ground call for further funding and better coordination.

Source: Lusa