ACTIVITIES

• Separated children in Europe programme
• Education of judges, social welfare professionals and the police
• Education of guardians for separated children (2005-2006)
• Care and protection of separated children, potential victims of trafficking in human beings

Separated Children in Europe Programme (SCEP) started in 1997 as a joint initiative of the International Save the Children Alliance and UNHCR. SCEP represents the response to the situation of children who have left their country of origin and who have come to or across Europe.

CSPI is a part of this European network since 1998, where it was invited to participation because of the experiences from the project . In 2000 and 2003 CSPI produced National Report on the situation of separated children in Croatia.

The Programme promotes and advocates for the rights of separated children outside their country of origin, and develops the standards of good practice. SCEP aims to ensure the rights of separated children reach the same level as the rights of domicile children without adequate parental care.

In cooperation with the Ombudsman for Children and the Judicial Training Centre, CSPI in 2007 implements the project of education of Minor Offences Courts judges, social welfare professioanls and the police. The project participants are professionals who come in contact with separated children and/ or can influence the practice of treatment of this vulnerable group of children. The education is designed to help these groups of professionals in their future work - decision-making and the treatment of separated children in the accordance with their best interest, national and international legal documents and recommendations.

CSPI and the Ombudsman for Children will also publish the manual for professionals.

CSPI organised the education of (potential) specialized guardians - external collaborators of social services - with the goal of the improvement of professional support to and care for separated children, foreign nationals.

With the support of UNHCR (2005) and the Governmental Office for Human Rights (2006), three-days education was held in two groups of specialized guardians. The education covered topics of children's rights, role of guardians, international documents that regulate the status of refugees, good practice, the protection of victims of trafficking, interim care for separated children, Law on Asylum, and risk and protective factors for separated children.

...was a part of Regional Trafficking Response Programme carried out by Save the Children Alliance in South-Eastern Europe.

The goal of the project was to provide the protection of best interests of children and to prevent trafficking in children (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, art.3 and art.35).

The first project component was the protection of separated children, outside of their country of origin, accommodated in social welfare institutions in Zagreb and Osijek. This group of children is at especially high risk of trafficking.

The second project component is the implementation of the trafficking prevention curriculum with groups of children with behavioural problems - potential victims of trafficking.