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
Recommendation 2253
(2023)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 27 April 2023 (13th sitting) (see Doc. 15748, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Displaced Persons, rapporteur: Mr Paolo Pisco; and oral opinion
of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development,
rapporteur: Ms Carmen Leyte). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 27 April 2023 (13th sitting).
1. The Assembly, referring to 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”, deplores and condemns the massive violations
of international law caused by the full-scale war of aggression
by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the resulting deportations
and forcible transfers of thousands of civilians, in particular children,
to the Russian Federation, to temporarily occupied territories of
Ukraine and to Belarus. The repatriation of children, their rehabilitation
and the creation of conditions for family reunification to preserve
the identity of the children of Ukraine must now be a priority for
the Council of Europe member States.
2. The Assembly welcomes, therefore, the preparation by the Committee
of Ministers of a declaration on the situation of Ukrainian children
affected by the Russian Federation’s continued aggression against
Ukraine. This declaration was initiated by the Steering Committee
for the Rights of the Child (CDENF), with a view to its adoption
by the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe at
the 4th Summit (16-17 May 2023, Reykjavik, Iceland), and underscores
the need to guarantee the effective protection of the rights of
children of Ukraine. The Assembly trusts that the Committee of Ministers
will ensure adequate follow-up to this Reykjavik declaration and
stands ready for future co-operation on this issue.
3. The Assembly welcomes the Committee of Ministers’ initiatives,
and the subsequent proposals of the Secretary General of the Council
of Europe, to ensure that the Council of Europe contributes to establishing accountability
for the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, bringing
to justice all those responsible for deportations and forcible displacements,
and securing justice for victims, including the establishment of
a register to record and document evidence and claims of damage,
loss or injury as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
4. The Assembly supports the recommendations put forward by the
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights that concrete mechanisms
and solutions be urgently identified and used to reunite with their families
all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia and to temporarily
Russian-occupied territories, including through the identification
and registration of unaccompanied and separated children from Ukraine and
the facilitation of family tracing and reunification procedures.
It calls upon the Committee of Ministers to assist Ukraine in this
process. The Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience,
Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) should be instrumental
in reaching these aims. A special effort should be made to support
the work of the Coordination Council of Ukraine for the Protection
and Safety of Children under the auspices of the Office of the President
of Ukraine and the work of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner
for Human Rights on the return of Ukrainian children from deportation.
In this regard, the development of a new “Human Rights Education
for Legal Professionals” course on the deportation of children can
be envisaged.
5. The Assembly calls upon the Committee of Ministers to ensure
effective protection of migrants and refugees in a vulnerable situation,
especially women and children fleeing Ukraine, through the work
of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration
and Refugees in the framework of the “Council of Europe Action Plan
on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and
Asylum in Europe (2021-2025)”.
6. The Assembly trusts that the Secretary General will ensure
co-ordination of all actions taken to protect the rights of children
of Ukraine and will inform the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly
of progress achieved. The Assembly recommends that appropriate communication
mechanisms be established in co-operation with the Ukrainian authorities
and with other international organisations, such as the European
Union institutions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for
Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and national
and international civil society organisations.