Information Campaign Launched for Bulgarians Abroad Related to Child Protection

The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice has launched an information campaign targeting Bulgarians abroad and related to the protection of their children. It is in response to reports of recent cases in which social services took the children of immigrants from Bulgaria because of alleged risks to them in the family.

The campaign mottoed "Stay Together" is in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Child Protection Agency. As of today, information on the protection measures in different countries can be found on their websites, as well as on the electronic portals of all Bulgarian embassies and consular offices abroad.

The aim is to make families aware in advance that local legislation not Bulgarian is valid when it comes to the protection of their child.

The nearly five-minute video illustrates under what conditions a child protection procedure can be initiated and what the measures are. Including when a child can be taken away from parents.

"The Bulgarian court and child protection authorities do not have the power and cannot interfere in the procedure for imposing a protection measure in a foreign country," the Ministry of Justice warns .