What is Suzir’ya?
As the war in Ukraine continues, children displaced from Ukraine are increasingly at risk—or victims—of child trafficking, abuse, and other violations of their basic rights. Civil society organizations (CSOs) dedicated to helping children can play a vital role protecting these children by providing specialized support and working in partnership with state actors responsible for child protection and access to justice.
“Suzir’ya” means “constellation” in Ukrainian. It embodies the project’s aim of fostering national and transnational cooperation and partnerships across sectors and agencies and embracing innovative solutions. Suzir’ya strives to provide essential protection, support and access to justice for children displaced from Ukraine in Europe.
Project Objectives
- Improve skills and knowledge of CSOs, governments, and other key stakeholders to identify, document, and preserve evidence of conflict-related crimes committed against children displaced from Ukraine, who are now living in Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
- Establish coordinated interagency hubs in Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia to provide legal and psychosocial assistance.
- Strengthen integrated child protection systems.
- Coordinate key actors and systems at the transnational level.
Why Suzir’ya?
Children are disproportionately impacted by conflict such as the war in Ukraine, giving rise to acute child protection risks. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the UN Refugee Agency estimates that nearly 6.7 million Ukrainians and foreign national residents of Ukraine have been forced to flee the country. Approximately one-third of these refugees are children, including an unknown number who are unaccompanied or separated, making this the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
The needs of children displaced from Ukraine are becoming increasingly complex. Organized criminal groups and human traffickers thrive in times of conflict, and displacement makes individuals, particularly children, highly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Also, many children on the move have witnessed or been the victims of human rights violations because of the war. Further, the risks of human trafficking have evolved as many displaced children go online for social interaction and schooling, rendering them vulnerable to trafficking in new ways. KIND’s innovative Suzir’ya project is designed to counter and respond to these needs.
We are working with other key stakeholders to support coordinated interagency national and transnational child protection systems. We do this by providing training; and direct, psychosocial and case management services that center children. Government and CSOs can play a vital role in protecting children from, and helping them respond to, human trafficking and other crimes related to the war. By emphasizing the importance of sharing key information, resources, and implementing new tools (including open-source intelligence tools), we are working to protect children systematically.