“Russia’s failure to return Ukrainian children separated from their families and legal guardians is a serious violation of their human rights. Concrete mechanisms and solutions must urgently be identified and used to reunite these children with their families,” said today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, following a visit to Ukraine focused on the human rights situation of Ukrainian children transferred to the Russian Federation and to territories of Ukraine under Russian occupation.
As the Commissioner has already stated in her memorandum on the human rights consequences of the war in Ukraine, which followed an earlier visit in May 2022, Russia’s aggression has resulted in the violation of the human rights of countless Ukrainian children. Hundreds of children were killed or injured, and millions were deprived of their ability to enjoy basic rights, including healthcare and education. The war has also led to the internal and external displacement of millions of people, putting many children at an increased risk of being separated from parents or caregivers. Thousands of Ukrainian children, including entire orphanages and care institutions, were evacuated to other locations within Ukraine, as well as to other member states of the Council of Europe and beyond.
Many other Ukrainian children affected by the war were taken to or ended up in the Russian Federation or in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
It is very difficult to establish reliable overall figures on the number of Ukrainian children who have been taken to Russia, especially those of unaccompanied children or those in orphanages or care institutions. There are several initiatives to that end, including the tracing website “Children of War” established by the Ukrainian authorities, which also records reports of children who have died or gone missing. However, “the scarcity of reliable figures should not discourage initiatives aimed at finding solutions”, said the Commissioner.
The Commissioner considers that the failure to return Ukrainian children taken to Russia to their parents or legal guardians is a clear violation of those children’s human rights. The Commissioner is deeply moved by the tragedy of many unaccompanied children located in Russia or on Russian-occupied territories, away from international public scrutiny and with limited access to assistance. “Unaccompanied Ukrainian children are among the most vulnerable and powerless victims of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. We must act urgently,” said the Commissioner, calling for resolute action by the international community. “The reunification of Ukrainian children with their families and legal guardians in Ukraine or in third countries cannot wait. Measures to facilitate family reunification should be taken as soon as possible. The passage of time will inevitably weaken those children’s links with their families and complicate their eventual reunification,” stressed the Commissioner.
Calls for Tenders
