By KYIV. Dec 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak noted the importance of the world community supporting the development of effective tools that will ensure the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia.
He stated this during his participation in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, held in Kyiv, the press service of the President’s Office reported on Saturday.
“It is extremely important to work together on the development of international legal mechanisms that will enable efforts to bring back the children. This issue is urgent, and it cannot be ignored. This work must happen fast because children are growing up, and Russians continue to commit these crimes,” the head of the President’s Office said.
He called on the coalition members to collaborate on developing mechanisms for identification, document restoration, and the physical return of children to Ukraine.
“We already have a lot of information about how Russians abduct children, how they become victims of cruel treatment, and their names are changed. It is not about isolated cases,” the head of the President’s Office said.
Andriy Yermak said Russians themselves admit to changing the names of Ukrainian children, placing them under Russian guardianship, and prohibiting the use of the Ukrainian language.
“This is all evidence of the genocide against the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Andriy Yermak is convinced that each such crime against Ukrainian children must be thoroughly documented as evidence for future investigations not only in Ukraine but also at the International Criminal Court.
He expressed gratitude to Qatar, the Vatican, and other countries and international organizations contributing to these processes.
For her part, Baroness Helena Kennedy KC said that she is glad to cooperate with the Office of the President, to be a co-chair of the Bring Kids Back UA expert group and to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia.
American businessman and philanthropist, Chair of the Open Society Foundations Alexander Soros, said in his speech that the number of abducted Ukrainian children has already reached the population of some European countries. He expressed pride in the support provided by the Open Society Foundations and the International Renaissance Foundation to the initiative of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children. He also advocated for the urgent adoption of a UN resolution to facilitate the immediate return of Ukrainian children.
During his speech, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said: “If we were to return at least one deported child home every day, it would take Ukraine more than 55 years. However, we cannot wait that long. Russia has been deporting Ukrainian children since 2014 and continues to do so now. It has been almost 10 years since occupiers abducted an eight-year-old child. Now, they are a young man or woman. Children grow up very quickly, and Russia takes away not only their childhood but also their family, country, and nationality.”
He added that this is why the first meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children took place today, with the participation of 72 representatives from other countries and international organizations. “Everything is for our children to be home. We continue to work for a bright future for Ukraine and our children at home,” the Ukrainian ombudsman said.
