People who leave Ukraine in search of safety use legal border crossing channels. They have the opportunity to legalize their stay in a new country, obtain a work permit and continue their education.
The visa-free regime and legal status of Ukrainians in Europe protected them, although not all, from traders of "live goods" and smugglers who profit from the plight of people. This is stated in the study of the Office UN from drugs and crime.
Flows of refugees from Ukraine
Since the beginning of the war, more than 8,13 million people have left Ukraine. 7,86 million Ukrainian refugees are registered in European countries. 2,85 million Ukrainians left for Russia, 1,54 million - for Poland, 1,02 million - for Germany, 472 thousand - for the Czech Republic, 173 thousand - for Italy, 159 thousand - for Spain. In Great Britain, which is one of the few European countries that require entry visas from Ukrainians, 152 citizens of Ukraine found asylum.
About half of those who left for European countries are adult women, 40 percent are children, and 10 percent are men. In recent months, many Ukrainians have moved from countries bordering Ukraine to other European countries.
Legalization of status
In Europe, more than 4,86 million people who left Ukraine registered to receive temporary protection or other status within the national schemes of legalization of their stay. Approximately 270 thousand Ukrainians settled in the USA and Canada, where many of them received the right to work, study and social assistance.
"Legal entry and rapid status clearance, such as 'temporary protection' status for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, helps prevent illegal immigration and protect people from human traffickers," the study emphasizes.
Individual cases of exploitation and illegal entry
But, despite the presence of legal channels of migration, individual cases of trafficking in people, natives of Ukraine, in particular, children in the context of illegal adoption and illegal surrogate motherhood, are still found in Europe. Some refugees from Ukraine are subjected to sexual exploitation and forced labor. Criminal groups attract Ukrainians into their networks, force people to beg and commit criminal activities.
The authorities of European countries report that there have been separate cases of illegal importation of migrants from Ukraine. Mostly it's about document fraud. For example, people of other nationalities used allegedly "Ukrainian documents" to enter the countries of Western Europe. Provisions on visa-free regime and temporary protection do not apply to non-Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine at the time the war began.
The UN welcomed the decision to provide Ukrainians with legal entry routes and legal status, which helped prevent the illegal importation of people fleeing violence and war in Ukraine.
The attitude towards Ukrainians should become the standard for treating all refugees
Experts note that the legal framework applied in the EU regarding refugees from Ukraine is significantly different from that which regulates the status of people from other countries of the world. The UN has repeatedly called for intensifying the fight against smugglers and human traffickers who, preying on the desperate state of people, lure them into dangerous journeys.
The services of smugglers are in particular demand among refugees and migrants from conflict zones and war-torn countries. Due to the lack of safe ways, these people are forced to resort to the help of criminals.
As a result, thousands of migrants and refugees die every year without ever reaching their intended destination. When crossing borders illegally, people often become victims of sexual and other violence, as well as abduction by human traffickers. They are forced to use various loopholes, sometimes agreeing to forced marriages or other coercive conditions of moving to a safe country.
