27/06/2024 Session | Children of Ukraine
“The situation of the children of Ukraine, deprived of their childhood by a war and, even more tragic, who have been uprooted and forcibly separated from their homeland, is of primary importance to us,” said PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, on the occasion of the launching of the Parliamentary Network on the situation of the children of Ukraine in Strasbourg today. He underlined that almost two-thirds of the children from Ukraine have become internally displaced, and about one and a half million, most of them with their mothers, have had to take refuge in other states.
The Network is part of the follow-up to PACE’s Resolution 2529 (2024) on this issue adopted in January 2024, based on a report by Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, EC/DA). “Its task will be to enable the Assembly to continue its role as a facilitator to support the Ukrainian authorities and various international organisations in determining the most rapid means to identify and facilitate an effective search for deported children. The Network will also serve as a platform of exchange to promote the protection of the rights of displaced and refugee children,” said Simon Moutquin (Belgium, SOC), Chairperson of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, who moderated this event.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the creation of the Network, stressing that “nearly 20,000 children had been deported or forcibly transferred by the Russians”, and calling on national parliaments to "continue to support Ukraine, including by bringing perpetrators to justice and by supporting the reintegration and rehabilitation of children”.
Danielle Bell, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, outlined the consequences of war on children. Beyond the injured and dead among children, she said, ”the war has impaired children’s rights to education and health, which will have long-term implications for their development”. She added that children in newly-occupied territory lacked the protections due to them under international humanitarian law. “I urge you to continue working toward accountability for violations affecting children and to keep up financial support for de-mining and for humanitarian assistance,” she concluded.
Participants were shown a video featuring the testimonies of three young Ukrainians who were displaced or deported, and who were able to return to Ukraine. “We must facilitate as much as possible the reintegration of children returning to Ukraine by offering them every possible opportunity," stressed PACE rapporteur Olena Khomenko.
The Network will hold its first meeting during the 2024 fourth part-session of the Assembly (30 September-4 October).
