Resources on migration during COVID-19

Policy and governance: 

• European Commission Communication on COVID-19: Guidance on the implementation of relevant EU provisions in the area of asylum and return procedures and on resettlement 
• European Parliament Resolution EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences 
• Council of Europe final report on the implementation on the Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe (2017-2019) 
• Call for submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’s new report on border technologies and enforcement here. 

Statements/positions/resources: 

• UNICEF resource page on COVID-19: what you need to know about the virus to protect you and your family
• PICUM Statement: the COVID-19 pandemic: we need urgent measures to protect people and mend the cracks in our health, social protection and migration systems
• Joint statement by UNHCR and UNICEF, As COVID-19 pandemic continues, forcibly displaced children need more support than ever 
• UNHCR, Practical Recommendations and Good Practice to Address Protection Concerns in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic (attached)  
• Report: Rethinking care: Improving support for unaccompanied migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children in the European Union, by Lumos Foundation in collaboration with UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM. It maps and assesses the forms of care provided to unaccompanied migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children in six European Union Member States: Bulgaria, France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain.

  Webinars:  

• Webinar Relocation of unaccompanied children from Greek islands: sharing experiences, guidance and recommendations by Child Circle, Missing Children Europe, Oxfam and Refugee Rights Europe, 29 April 2020 14:00 – 15:30 CET 
• Webinar Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe by European Network on Statelessness in collaboration with the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights, 7 May 2020 11:00 – 12:00 CET 

Funding opportunities:  

EPIM’s Rolling Call for Proposals ‘Seizing opportunities to advise European asylum policies and practices’  to support (transnational) partnerships of civil society organisations active at EU, national, bilateral, regional and/or local levels in their efforts to seize (urgent) opportunities to advise European asylum policies and practices.  

Proposed projects should contribute to ensure that all migrants are able to access European asylum systems that are humane, fair, effective and capable of offering protection. More info in email attached.  

  Research:  

ApartTogether is a study coordinated by Ghent University and a research consortium of academics linked to European Universities to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants and refugees. The study aims to better understand how refugees and migrants experience the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 and how they deal with any challenges that have arisen. Insights from the survey will be used to inform organisations and decision makers on how they can better support migrants and refugees during and after this pandemic. The online survey contains 30 items to allow for a speedy completion by participants who can fill out the questionnaires using their phones or other handheld devices or laptops. It uses a simple language and has been translated into 27 languages.