The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs, on Saturday, that until this moment the Romanian Embassy in London and the Consulate General in Manchester have not been notified by the British authorities regarding the Romanian citizens who were arrested as a result of the incidents that held on Thursday evening in Leeds.
"Until this moment, the Romanian Embassy in London and the Consulate General of Romania in Manchester have not been notified about the Romanian citizens who were arrested as a result of the incident on the evening of July 18, 2024, but the representatives of the consular office in Manchester they have taken steps to request additional information and, as soon as the details are clarified with the local police authorities, they will be made known to the public," it is mentioned in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to AGERPRES.
At the same time, the MAE mentions that, until this moment, the consular office has not received any requests for consular assistance from the families of Romanian citizens who have been subjected to such a measure.
MAE recalls that, during the day of July 19, 2024, the Romanian consul general in Manchester had a series of meetings with the representatives of the local authorities in Leeds involved in the management of the situation which was based on the action of taking minors into the care of local social services. Also, the general consul of Romania in Manchester "held intense and constructive discussions" both with the representatives of the Romanian community and with the representatives of the religious cults in the locality.
The Consulate General of Romania in Manchester will continue the dialogue with the family of the Romanian citizens involved in this case, as well as with the local British authorities, until the best legal solutions to resolve the situation are identified, the source mentioned.
The MFA reminds that Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Consulate General of Romania in Manchester: 0044 161 236 0478, 0044 161 236 9687, 0044 161 237 1546, 0044 161 237 5513, 0044 161 236 8995, 0044 161 923 4947 , the calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Center of Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken over by Call Center operators on a permanent basis. Also, Romanian citizens who face a difficult, special, urgent situation can use the consulate's emergency telephone number: 0044 (0) 75 35 604 342.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reminds that an investigation by the local police authorities is underway in this case.
Several Romanians were involved, Thursday evening, in Leeds, in violent incidents, which seem to have been triggered by the attempt to take over some children in the care of the state.
The Romanian MFA informed previously, on Friday, that in the context of the discussions with the representatives of the British social services within the Leeds Local Council that manages the case of minor Romanian citizens, as well as with the family of Romanian citizens, the representatives of the Consulate General in Manchester assured them of the support of the Romanian authorities in identifying a stable, lasting solution, in the best interest of the minors, respecting the decisions adopted by the British authorities responsible for the case.
The representatives of the Romanian mission emphasized the importance of openness and cooperation of the minors' family with the competent authorities to identify all the instruments intended to facilitate a solution in the best interest of the minors, it was mentioned in the information sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
The Romanian Ministry also emphasized that, according to the competences, in the overall consular protection and assistance actions carried out for Romanian citizens, MAE, through the diplomatic missions and consular offices of Romania, and in some situations with the support of the attachés for social and labor issues, grants special attention to Romanian minors who might find themselves in difficult situations abroad.
Likewise, the dialogue is maintained with the parents of minors, with the competent local authorities, as well as with the Romanian institutions with attributions in matters of protection of the rights of minors.
The MAE also highlighted that in all the steps taken in the case of minor Romanian citizens in special situations, the fundamental principle of respecting the best interests of the child is exclusively taken into account, in full accordance with the principles enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with compliance with the regulations of the state of citizenship or residence residence or domicile of the minor.
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