Complicity of the Republic of Belarus in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15769 | 10 May 2023

Signatories:

Mr Oleksandr MEREZHKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Ieva BRANTE, Latvia, NR ; Ms Natalia DAVIDOVICI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Normunds DZINTARS, Latvia, EC/DA ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Sally-Ann HART, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Mr John HOWELL, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Ms Maria JUFEREVA-SKURATOVSKI, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Serhii KALCHENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Eerik-Niiles KROSS, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Tomasz LATOS, Poland, EC/DA ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Dumitrina MITREA, Romania, EC/DA ; Mr Arkadiusz MULARCZYK, Poland, EC/DA ; Mr Bob van PAREREN, Netherlands, EC/DA ; Mr Serhii SOBOLIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrius VYŠNIAUSKAS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Markus WIECHEL, Sweden, EC/DA ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, illegal transfer of children from one social group to another is considered as a crime of genocide. According to the recent accounts of the Belarusian organisations, the authorities of the Republic of Belarus might be involved in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of Belarus and their brainwashing, with a view to depriving them of their feeling of Ukrainian identity. Such transfers might be regarded as complicity of the Republic of Belarus in the acts of genocide committed by Russia against the Ukrainian nation.

In view of this disturbing information, the Parliamentary Assembly should investigate the situation and adequately assess the reports related to the transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of Belarus and the complicity of its authorities.