1. Recalling its
Resolution 2495 (2023) “Deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children
and other civilians to the Russian Federation or to temporarily
occupied Ukrainian territories: create conditions for their safe
return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators,” the Parliamentary
Assembly firmly reiterates its condemnation of the full-scale war
of aggression being waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine
and the massive violations of the rights of Ukrainian children,
who are particularly vulnerable victims of this war. Children should
never be used as means of exerting pressure, or as war trophies.
2. No child in Ukraine has been spared by the war, and the Assembly
emphasises that all Ukrainian children have the right to enjoy the
rights and freedoms enshrined in relevant international human rights instruments
and that the rights and best interests of the child must prevail
in all decision making concerning them.
3. The Assembly expresses its gratitude to the member States
of the Council of Europe that have put in place good conditions
to welcome Ukrainian children, some benefiting from the temporary
protection system granted by the European Union countries.
4. The Assembly emphasises the essential need for these children
to receive education and healthcare, including mental health support,
that are tailored to their specific situation, to maintain their
connections with their language and culture, which will facilitate
their future return to Ukraine, taking into account the best interests
of the child.
5. In this regard, the Assembly supports the Council of Europe
Consultation Group on the Children of Ukraine and stands ready to
fully co-operate in the activities of this group.
6. The Assembly welcomes Ukraine's efforts to return deported
or forcibly transferred children, including the implementation of
the “Bring Kids Back UA” action plan and the creation of the International
Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children contained
in President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula.
7. The Assembly recognises Ukraine's commitment to protecting
vulnerable children, including by establishing the Child Rights
Protection Centre, which operates under the supervision of the Ukrainian Parliament
Commissioner for Human Rights and addresses issues related to documenting
crimes against children subjected to forcible transfer and deportation,
assesses the needs of children, places them in family-based care,
if necessary, and undertakes other actions aimed at their reintegration.
8. The Assembly is particularly concerned about the fate of children
forcibly transferred and deported to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian
territories, the Russian Federation, and Belarus. These practices
constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and, as noted by
the Assembly in its
Resolution
2482 (2023) “Legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s
aggression against Ukraine”, possible genocide, since acts “such
as killings and forcible transfer of children of one group to another
group for Russification purposes through adoption by Russian families
and/or transfer to Russian-run orphanages or residential facilities
like summer camps” could fall under Article II of the 1948 Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
9. The Assembly deplores and condemns the deportations and forcible
transfers of Ukrainian children, practices which are fundamentally
contrary to international law, in particular Geneva Convention (IV)
relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and
the Additional Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts, to which the Russian Federation and
Ukraine are signatories.
10. As of today, the “Children of War” platform run by the Ukrainian
Government states that it has collected information on more than
19 546 children which have been signalled as having been deported,
or forcibly transferred from various locations, and only 388 of
whom have returned home.
11. The Assembly notes that the longer time passes, the more the
chances of finding these children diminish, potentially leading
to the irreversibility of their situation. It emphasises the particular
vulnerability of orphans who have no support or legal representation.
The dramatic consequences on the mental and physical health and
well-being of children are crystallising. The citizenship and name
of these children have sometimes been changed by Russian authorities.
Some have been adopted illegally. Many are untraceable and have
no means of contact with their country or their family. All have
been subjected to some form of indoctrination, and a new culture
and a new language have been imposed on them. Children have experienced
psychological and/or physical aggression. These acts constitute
violations of their rights to preserve their identity, including nationality,
name, and family relations, to express their views freely, as well
as the right to education and to enjoy their own culture as guaranteed
by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
12. In view of these elements and the urgency of putting an end
to these crimes, the Assembly reiterates its call on the Russian
Federation and Belarus to immediately cease these illegal deportations,
detention, and forcible transfers of children and to facilitate
the return of children as soon as possible and under the best possible
conditions.
13. The Assembly welcomes the discussions and conclusions arising
from the meeting held by the ad hoc committee
of its Bureau on 15 December 2023 in Paris, which focused on the
return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported to
the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, Russian Federation,
and Belarus, as well as on the situation of children temporarily
residing under the protection of Council of Europe member States
and other host countries.
14. Consequently, the Assembly reiterates its call on the Russian
Federation and Belarus to:
14.1. cease
immediately and unconditionally these practices of deportation and
forcible transfer to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories,
the Russian Federation, and Belarus, stop the transfer of Ukrainian
children for adoption or foster care, stop the imposition of Russian
citizenship and name changes, and restore contact between these
children and their parents or carers, or, in cases of loss of parents
or carers, the competent Ukrainian authorities, with a view to their
immediate repatriation to their home land or to release them to
a safe third country;
14.2. provide the Ukrainian authorities or a third party (a
State or an international organisation) with comprehensive and reliable
information about the number and the whereabouts of Ukrainian children
in this situation, their names and surnames, their origin and the
destination of the deportation, in order to ensure their safe return
to Ukraine;
14.3. provide representatives of the relevant United Nations
bodies and other international humanitarian intervention and human
rights protection organisations, such as the United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
and other competent UN agencies, and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) with unhindered, immediate and safe access
to the children.
15. The Assembly considers that ensuring the return of deported
and forcibly transferred children to Ukraine, especially in cases
where family reunification is impossible, is in line with the principle
of the best interests of the child.
16. The Assembly calls on member States as well as observer States
and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy
status with the Assembly, as well as on the entire international
community acting in good will, and their diplomatic services to:
16.1. adopt, at the level of national
parliaments, statements and/or resolutions condemning the war crimes
against children and recognising deportations, forcible transfers,
and unjustifiable delay in repatriation of Ukrainian children, including
orphans, children deprived of parental care, and other unaccompanied
children under the control of the Russian Federation, as a crime
of genocide, while emphasising the need for the swift return of
deported and forcibly transferred children to Ukraine in line with
the principle of the best interests of the child;
16.2. make every effort to trace the fate of the thousands of
missing children, namely to identify, locate and return them to
Ukraine, and to reunify them with their parents and carers;
16.3. support Ukraine in its efforts to document and establish
the situation of each child, including the identification of deported
or forcibly transferred orphans, children with disabilities, and
children deprived of parental care, and to establish a substantiated,
comprehensive, and usable list of missing children;
16.4. collaborate with the law enforcement authorities of Ukraine
and establish mechanisms for documenting cases of forcible transfers
and deportation of Ukrainian children;
16.5. have recourse to instruments of universal jurisdiction
to record the facts of crimes committed, ensure justice, and create
the conditions to prevent that similar crimes occur in the future,
and employ various forms of international legal co-operation to
exchange data on the facts of forcible transfers and deportation
of Ukrainian children;
16.6. inform the competent authorities of Ukraine, via a duly-designated
partner authority in each country, in cases of border crossings
by citizens of the Russian Federation who have unlawfully adopted or
established guardianship over a Ukrainian child, with the aim of
returning that child to the territory of Ukraine;
16.7. provide political, logistical, and financial support for
the establishment of an effective, rapid, and safe legal mechanism
for the identification, tracing, and repatriation of children, and
to strengthen co-ordination with all relevant Ukrainian national
institutions and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human
Rights;
16.8. provide comprehensive support to the competent Ukrainian
governmental and non-governmental organisations dealing with such
categories of children as internally displaced, those in need of institutional
care, orphans, children of fallen soldiers and veterans, and those
physically and psychologically affected by war, in particular in
their efforts to secure full access to education and healthcare,
including physical and psychological rehabilitation, and reintegration;
16.9. impose and further comply with sanctions against the Russian
Federation and Belarus, as well as to include in the sanctions lists
individuals involved in the deportation, forcible transfer, and unjustifiable
delay in repatriation of Ukrainian children;
16.10. assess, via their competent national authorities, the
participation of journalists or other media representatives in propaganda
campaigns organised by the Russian Federation or Belarus concerning Ukrainian
children deported and forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation,
with a view to applying appropriate measures in such cases, for
example as regards refusal of accreditation and of access to public
events;
16.11. foster a full exchange of information concerning Ukrainian
children in institutional care and ensure close co-operation in
this respect between the competent authorities of Ukraine and the
member States.
17. The Assembly emphasises the need for enhanced co-operation
among various existing mechanisms, including civil society, to pool
efforts for the return of children, relying in particular on third-party
intervention which can offer guarantees of impartiality and effectiveness.
In this respect, it calls on the various organisations whose neutrality-based
mandate allows them to gain access to the territories of the Russian
Federation, Belarus, and occupied territories of Ukraine, to contribute
to the process of identification, location and repatriation of deported
and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children and to work closely
with Ukraine and all States which could facilitate the return of
children.
18. In this regard, the Assembly is committed to continuing its
role as a facilitator, including by considering what Assembly structure
or mechanism(s) could be used to support the Ukrainian authorities
and various international organisations, such as the ICRC, in determining
the most rapid means to identify and facilitate an effective search
for children, with access to as much information as possible about
their identity and the conditions of their deportation or forcible
transfer by the Russian Federation.