The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution on the situation of children in Ukraine, a member of the Verkhovna Rada's permanent delegation to PACE, Yevheniya Kravchuk, has said.
"PACE has just unanimously adopted a resolution on the situation of children in Ukraine - 85 votes in favour! Compared to Resolution 2495 (2023), which the Assembly adopted last April, today's document contains additional terms to protect Ukrainian children. It is important that the document has renewed the term that the deportation of Ukrainian children constitutes war crimes, crimes against humanity and contains signs of genocide," Kravchuk wrote.
She noted that special attention is paid to supporting IDPs: "The Assembly calls on member states to increase political support and support for humanitarian organisations to protect internally displaced children.
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 establishment of the Child Protection Centre, which operates under the supervision of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Assembly called for:
- Adopt statements and/or resolutions at the level of national parliaments recognising deportations, forced transfers and unjustified delays in the repatriation of Ukrainian children as a crime of genocide
- inform the competent authorities of Ukraine about border crossings by Russian citizens who have illegally adopted or established custody of a Ukrainian child
- to introduce and ensure further compliance with sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarusians, as well as to include in the sanctions lists the persons involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children;
- to assess the participation of media representatives in propaganda campaigns organised by the Russian Federation and Belarus against deported Ukrainian children in order to take appropriate measures, such as denial of accreditation and access to public events.
In addition, the Assembly will strengthen cooperation by establishing an ad hoc committee that will allow parliamentarians to help improve the situation of Ukrainian children wherever they are. Kravchuk recalled that the ad hoc committee had already met in December in Paris, and it is expected to meet on a regular basis from now on.