Five Moldovan children cannot be repatriated from Italy

For two months now, the Moldovan authorities have in vain tried to repatriate five Moldovan children who entered Italy illegally. The children, coming from Colibasi village in Ungheni, crossed the border illegally through Ukraine, in a car. Apparently the parents themselves arranged for the trip to have their children close to relatives working in Italy. Now the children are in custody of the Italian authorities as “unaccompanied minors”. At a meeting on Tuesday of the national committee for combating human trafficking, the chairman of the committee, Deputy Premier Victor Stepaniuc deplored the absence of an internal mechanism for bringing trafficked children back home. “Proceedings have been initiated, but it's not clear which of the authorities should bring the case to completion. Nobody is looking for those children”, said Stepaniuc. Martin Wyss, chief of the International Organization for Migration Mission to Moldova, noted that the case refers to illegal migration rather than child trafficking. Although the international treaties ratified both by Moldova and Italy provide for repatriation procedures, the children's return home is difficult. And this is because the Italian legislation facilitates the settlement of foreign children in Italy, said Wyss. According to Social Protection Minister Lucia Gavrilita, an international protocol ratified by Italy states that the authorities shall act in the best interest of the child. And since these children come from underprivileged families, their best interest would be to remain in a wealthier country. Furthermore, the parents of three children of the group could not be found, while the parents of the remaining two refuse to formally request their return. In the absence of such petitions, the Italian authorities will not allow the repatriation, the deputy minister explained. Deputy Prosecutor General Vasile Pascari believes the parents must be deprived of parental rights in order that the state can act as the children's legal representative. From the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, has repatriated 22 children. Most of them have been integrated into extended families. According to statistics, in the first half of 2008, there were registered 28 cases of trafficking in children, 154 cases of trafficking in humans, 68 cases of illegal migration and 102 cases of pimping.