EU HELP NEEDED WITH DE-INSTITUTIONALISATION OF EAST EUROPEAN ORPHANAGES - LIZ LYNNE MEP

12.00.00am GMT Mon 19th Nov 2007

Help from the European Union is needed if orphans such as those shown in the shocking BBC documentary 'Bulgaria's Abandoned Children' are to be taken out of institutions where they have often been neglected and live in appalling conditions, according to a Liberal Democrat Euro MP.

Following on from the first screening of the documentary which was shown again yesterday, Liz Lynne MEP contacted Bulgarian colleagues to seek their help in closing this home. She has now asked for EU help in reforming care and improving the rights and conditions of children such as those featured.

Liz Lynne, who is Vice President of the European Parliament's All Party Disability Intergroup and Member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, has long campaigned for the de-institutionalisation of all disabled people. She said:

"Like many people, I was horrified by the images in the programme when it was originally shown so I was not surprised to receive a large amount of letters from worried and angry constituents - in a modern European Union this cannot be allowed to happen.

"For this reason I have now asked if the European Commission were previously aware of the tragic circumstances in some care homes in newer Member States and what EU help can be made available to them to reform their care policies and structures.

"I am delighted that since the documentary was originally shown moves have been made to close the Mogilino home, but I will continue to work with my fellow MEPs and to campaign on these issues, until we can be certain that no children are suffering in these conditions."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

On the 19th of November 2007, Liz Lynne MEP asked the following European Parliamentary question:

Is the Commission aware of the shocking scenes of neglected, malnourished and injured children in the recent BBC documentary 'Bulgaria's Abandoned Children' about the situation at the Mogilino home and the distress it has caused both in the UK and Bulgaria?

Has any EU action been undertaken as a result of the documentary and what help can be offered so that no EU citizen has to endure these appalling conditions in the future?

The documentary followed the lives of 75 children in a care home in Mogilino, Bulgaria. According to Bulgarian MEP, many of the children shown have been moved and are being cared for by a team of volunteers.

In the programme, one child had her thumb cut off, 'because she kept sucking it.' Many of the children shown were unable to speak, not necessarily because they were incapable, but because no-one has taught them to do so. All of them were malnourished, and many had broken bones.

Bulgaria has more institutionalised mentally and physically disabled children than anywhere else in Europe, and whilst efforts have been made to move away from institutionalisation, this program shows how far there is still to go.