On January 25, the Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted the resolution "Situation regarding the children of Ukraine", in which it called on the countries of the European Union to make every effort to return the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
PACE adopted an essential resolution regarding Ukrainian children
The PACE resolution is based on a project prepared by Ukrainian People's Deputy Olena Khomenko, the Assembly's vice-president. 85 PACE deputies unanimously supported the resolution.
The document contains an important political decision to recognise Russia's criminal actions against Ukrainian children. In particular, the resolution calls on the parliaments of all Council of Europe member states to recognise the abduction of children as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
In addition, special attention is paid to migrant children. PACE calls for increased political and humanitarian support to protect internally displaced children.
The Assembly also emphasises the need to return the children to Ukraine as soon as possible to reduce the influence of the Russian regime on them.
The resolution supported the Bring Kids Back UA initiative and the creation of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children and welcomed the creation of the Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, which works under the supervision of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.
PACE calls for:
Adopt statements and resolutions at the level of national parliaments recognising abductions, forced displacements and unjustified delays in the repatriation of Ukrainian children as genocide;
to inform Ukraine about the crossing of the border by Russian citizens who illegally adopted or established guardianship over a Ukrainian child;
introduce and ensure further compliance with sanctions against Russia and Belarus, as well as include in the sanctions lists persons involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children;
to evaluate the participation of media representatives in propaganda campaigns organised by the Russian Federation and Belarus regarding kidnapped Ukrainian children and to apply appropriate measures, for example, regarding the refusal of accreditation and admission to public events.
In addition, the Assembly will strengthen cooperation by creating an ad hoc committee, allowing parliamentarians to contribute to improving the situation of Ukraine's children, wherever they are.
What is known about the abduction of Ukrainian children
For Children's Day in 2023, the Online.UA team presented the documentary project "Abducted Childhood", which tells the story of Ukrainian children forcibly deported and abducted to Russia.
In the "Abducted Childhood" film, children and their parents openly share their own stories: some of them were in captivity, some were forcibly taken to a "rehabilitation camp", and some were separated from their parents during the so-called filtering measures.
The project documents children's testimonies about war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian people.
