Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine calls on world to condemn forced deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a people's deputy with the Holos (Voice) faction, announced the adoption of the relevant resolution No. 9267 on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

Thus, the Verkhovna Rada appeals to parliaments, governments of foreign countries and international organizations with a proposal to express their position by adopting appropriate decisions to strongly condemn the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, which under international humanitarian law qualifies as a crime of genocide and other crimes against Ukrainian children committed by the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian parliament also calls on partners to express public support for the activities of the International Criminal Court, in particular in the investigation and prosecution of genocide crimes.

In this context, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine calls on the law enforcement agencies of foreign countries to assist Ukrainian authorities and the ICC in collecting evidence of the involvement of the Russian Federation and its officials in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.

In addition, Verkhovna Rada appeals to international organizations to take all possible measures to provide the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child with complete lists of deported children since 2014, including those already adopted in the Russian Federation and those who have received Russian citizenship, and to ensure their return to Ukraine.

At the same time, the Ukrainian parliament calls on the institutions of the Council of Europe and the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intensify their work on developing international mechanisms for the identification, protection of the interests, and return of abducted children.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the President of Ukraine said that the Russian Federation had abducted 20,000 Ukrainian children during the full-scale invasion.