Kolbasa Ruslan is a Director General of the Directorate for the Development of Social Services and Protection of Children’s Rights of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.
According to Mr. Ruslan, every day in each region there is an issue of children transportation from different institutions. The main task today is to coordinate efforts to enable these institutions to move to Western Ukraine.
The decision on crossing the border for departure has been simplified for:
- orphans;
- children deprived of parental care;
- children who are in centers for social and psychological rehabilitation;
- women with children, if there is no notarized consent of the other parent.
“Today we see a large number of children being accepted by Poland. We work with numerous organizations. Spain, Italy, Germany also accept our children. That is, there is a wide range of host countries that are ready to accept them in the future. “
Ruslan Kolbasa noted that they are also developing the border crossing procedure for persons accompanying people with disabilities. At the border, there is a question of conscripts who are either caretakers or who are raising children with disabilities.
“There is a document that clearly states that if parents (one of the parents) raise a child with a disability, they have the right to cross the border. But today these categories need to be legalized and expanded. We have prepared a draft law, and we think that the deputies will support it. “
Several coordination councils have been established. The general council (established at the initiative of the authorized advisors of the President of Ukraine for children’s rights and children’s rehabilitation, Daria Gerasymchuk) includes ministries and various organizations, in total – more than 70 experts. Several high-level councils have also been set up for decision-making by MPs and border guards.
Coordination councils also discussed the adoption of Ukrainian children by foreigners during the war. It is possible only within the current legislation of Ukraine. The package of documents is processed in the same way as in peacetime.
“We truly thank every country that is currently accepting our children, but we believe that adoption is a process that is carried out in accordance with court decisions. That is why it is now impossible to simplify adoption procedures.”
