15/12/2023 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation | Children of Ukraine
“We politicians have a duty to take action, to support the children of Ukraine and their future, in host countries and within Ukraine. And we also have a duty to make every possible effort to help the return of deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children,” PACE President Tiny Kox said at the opening of a PACE hearing on the situation of the children of Ukraine.
Following the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, he recalled, the Assembly has expressed a strong political commitment to help the Ukrainian authorities and relevant stakeholders in other countries. “I wish that today it acts as a facilitator to find possible solutions to the tracing and safe return of deported children to their families and to provide assistance to member states hosting Ukrainian children as regards, for example, access to healthcare and education, including within Ukraine itself,” Tiny Kox stated.
The PACE President recalled recent Assembly Resolution 2495 and Recommendation 2253, which called for support to ensure the immediate return of unlawfully transferred and deported Ukrainian children. “Our Assembly could act as a facilitator to find possible solutions to the tracing and safe return of deported children, helping them reunite with their families or legal guardians. This is a matter of utmost importance given the extreme vulnerability of children who now suffer the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
PACE Vice-President Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, EC/DA) underlined that it is the Assembly’s duty to make every possible effort to help the return of Ukrainian deported and forcibly transferred children. “The Assembly also asked that Russia provide representatives and staff of relevant United Nations bodies and other international human rights and humanitarian mechanisms and organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, with unhindered, immediate and safe access to Ukrainian children to provide reliable and comprehensive information about their numbers and whereabouts, and ensure their dignified treatment and their safe return,” she added.
Opening the morning session, PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, stated that by March 2023, some four million Ukrainians were under temporary protection in the EU. Of these, 47% were women, and over one-third (34%) were children, whose protection remains a critical priority. “We are speaking about more than 1,36 million children who are now living temporarily outside Ukraine, but who will, we hope and believe, return to Ukraine when peace is restored. Around 69% of the displaced children are under 13 years of age, and 0,5% were registered as unaccompanied minors,” she said.
“The goal of this meeting is to foster political support for our member States’ future actions to ensure the best possible reception for the Ukrainian children currently in the Council of Europe member States. This includes meeting their specific needs and notably ensuring an optimal level of protection, access to health care, continuity of education, access to their own language and culture,” she underlined.
The debates were structured in two sessions: the first one focused on the situation of Ukrainian children who are currently in Council of Europe member states, their access to healthcare and education, and EU protection measures. Participants included Maryna Slobodnichenko, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Health Protection for International Affairs, and Vasyl Lutsyk, Head of the National Social Service of Ukraine.
The second session focused on the situation of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred to the Russian Federation, Belarus, or territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. It included statements from Dmytro Lubinets, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Ukrainian Parliament; Viktoriia Litvinova, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine; and Paulo Pisco (Portugal, SOC), PACE rapporteur on deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children.
The meeting also featured video testimonies and discussions on possible actions to locate and help return deported or forcibly transferred Ukrainian children. PACE members, representatives from Ukrainian authorities, NGOs and international organisations contributed to the discussions, focusing on the need for co-ordinated efforts.
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In April 2023, PACE adopted a resolution based on a report by Paulo Pisco (Portugal, SOC) on “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”.
