In its efforts to help Filipino children in Bahrain, the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain launched a program dedicate to assisting undocumented minors in the Kingdom.
Oplan Kabataan was introduced in order to assist more Filipino children under difficult circumstances and in view of the rights guaranteed to a child under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child—particularly the right to be registered at birth, to have a name, to leave a country to be reunited with family, and to have access to quality healthcare and education. Through this program, the embassy organized repatriation initiatives for minors and infants who were born without proper documentations in order to afford them access to quality education and healthcare.
Recently, the embassy arranged for the repatriation of two Filipinas and their babies by facilitating the DNA testing, registration in the system, travel documents, and exit clearance. The mothers and infants were also provided tickets back to the Philippines, as well as shelters at the Embassy’s Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center while waiting for their exit clearances.
Since 2017, the Embassy has repatriated more than 61 cases of undocumented children who were born in Bahrain and had no birth certificates, no passports or visas, and who have not been given adequate access to medical facilities because of their illegal status. These children have also been deprived of the opportunity to get an education as only local and legal residents/expatriates are allowed to enrol in schools operating under the Ministry of Education.
