Ministry of Foreign Affairs on OSCE report: Abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia is recognized as violation of conventions
The conclusions of the OSCE report on the forced transfer and/or deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation can be used within national and international mechanisms for bringing to justice the perpetrators and perpetrators of recorded war crimes.
This is stated in the commentary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the "Report on violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international law in the field of human rights, war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the forced transfer and/or deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation", Censor.NET reports.
"The report prepared by the independent mission of experts of the Moscow Mechanism of the OSCE is the first separate international report devoted to the problem of the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia. It should be noted that the Russian Federation refused to cooperate with the mentioned mission.
Among the key conclusions of the Report, it is necessary to highlight that:
- a large number of Ukrainian children, starting from February 24, 2022, and before this date, were moved to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the territory of the Russian Federation, which can be qualified as a crime against humanity "deportation or forced displacement of the population";
- evacuation and long-term movement of Ukrainian children without consent is a violation of international humanitarian law, and in some cases - serious violations of the IV Geneva Convention and war crimes;
- forcibly displaced or deported Ukrainian children find themselves in a completely Russian environment, in particular in terms of language, customs and religion, and are subjected to a pro-Russian information campaign, which often amounts to purposeful re-education and involvement in military education;
- Russia's actions to change the citizenship of Ukrainian children, illegal adoption of children or similar assimilation measures are violations of the IV Geneva Convention;
- The Russian Federation creates various obstacles for families seeking to return their children, and also prevents the establishment of a list and location of children, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions;
- numerous and repeated violations of the interests and rights of children stipulated by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular the rights to identity, family and family reunification, education, access to information, rest, leisure, freedom of thought, conscience and religions, rights to freedom and inviolability, etc.;
- the cumulative effects of these numerous violations raise serious concerns that the right of displaced Ukrainian children to be free from torture and ill-treatment and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has been violated.
Ukraine emphasizes that the forced transfer or deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation may constitute genocide under Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The conclusions of the Report can be used within the framework of national and international mechanisms for bringing to justice the customers and perpetrators of the crimes recorded in the Report," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
