Return of deported Ukrainian children is PACE’s priority – Vice-President

On December 15, 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) started hearings on the situation with the Ukrainian children remaining in EU Member States, as well as the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia.

PACE Vice-President Olena Khomenko commented on the matters discussed at the hearings in an interview with Ukrinform.

“European colleagues perceive the problems of Ukrainian children very closely and are determined to help. Of course, today’s meeting of the special committee is only the beginning, as there are many problems. The committee has determined the directions of work, and one of the main ones is the return of deported Ukrainian children. For this purpose, it is necessary for our international partners to increase sanctions pressure,” Khomenko told, commenting on the second part of the meeting dedicated to the above issue.

In her words, there is an entire criminal system working on children’s abduction, and all the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

According to Khomenko, it is necessary for more countries to actively participate in the process of returning children and their identification.

“Our speakers voiced specific steps that Ukraine needs from the international community. I believe that PACE will be able to become a powerful platform for facilitating the return of our children,” Khomenko stressed.

At the opening of the special meeting in Paris, PACE President Tiny Kox noted that he would like the Assembly to find a solution to help bring the deported Ukrainian children back home and facilitate the lives of children remaining in Ukraine.

Khomenko called for making use of all the Assembly’s opportunities to create the actual instruments that would help Ukrainian children.

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to the Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred to Russia, Belarus, or the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side was also represented by Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets and Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Viktoriia Lytvynova.

Photo: Lidiia Taran, Ukrinform