Members of the European Parliament have adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately, safely and unconditionally return all deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.
This is stated on the European Parliament’s website.
The document was backed by 536 MEPs, with 8 voting against and a further 37 abstaining. Lawmakers condemned the systematic deportation, illegal adoption, forced Russification, ideological indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children during the war.
They stressed that returning the children is an obligation under international law, and that Russia therefore has no right to use them as a bargaining tool or make their return conditional on territorial concessions, prisoner exchanges or other political arrangements.
According to the text of the resolution, as of September this year specialists had confirmed 20,651 cases of deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia, while an estimated further 1.6 million children remain under Russian occupation. As of 28 October, 2,752 children had already been returned home.
MEPs insist that the safe return of all illegally removed children must become a priority in diplomatic negotiations on a genuine peace agreement. They underlined that lasting peace is impossible without upholding these children’s rights and punishing those responsible. In addition, the European Parliament called on EU countries to strengthen practical cooperation with Ukraine and international organisations to speed up the search for and return of missing children, and to expand sanctions against individuals and institutions involved in the deportations.
Lawmakers also reaffirmed their full support for the International Criminal Court and the arrest warrants it has issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. MEPs stressed that accountability must extend not only to Russia’s top leadership, but also to the full list of perpetrators and accomplices to these crimes.
The resolution also provides for close cooperation between Europol, Eurojust and the Ukrainian Ombudsman to gather information and establish the whereabouts of illegally removed children.