Bring Kids Back UA develops procedures for the return of Ukrainian children from Russia

The International expert group "Bring Kids Back UA" met up for the first time to develop mechanisms and practical steps for the return of Ukrainian children abducted and deported to Russia. 

According to the Office of the President, the meeting ensued in a video conference format with the participation of the Head of the President's Office, Andrii Yermak, Rubryka reports.

The event also involved the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, Advisor to the President on Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation, Daria Herasymchuk, and over 20 recognized experts in child rights protection in armed conflicts and high-ranking specialists in humanitarian, legal, and diplomatic fields.

Yermak expressed gratitude to the co-chair of the International Group, renowned human rights lawyer, civil liberties and child protection advocate, director of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, Baroness Helena Kennedy, and the participants for supporting Ukraine and its people during the full-scale Russian invasion and in the return of Ukrainian children illegally displaced by Russia.

"Russia has abducted at least 20,000 children, according to official data. The terrorist state provides no information about the whereabouts of Ukrainian children to any international organizations or states," said the head of the President's Office.

He stressed that Ukraine has evidence of the horrors Ukrainian children face in Russia and temporarily occupied territories, including psychological pressure and "brainwashing."

This is attested by the children themselves, who have been successfully brought back to Ukraine.

"Ukrainian children in Russia are hostages. Our mission is to stop their suffering and bring them all home," Yermak stressed.

According to him, since the current global security system has proven ineffective, new tools need to be created to work on the return of children.

To achieve this, Ukraine formed the Bring Kids Back UA group, which begins its work today.

"The mechanisms and tools that the group can propose may be used not only to end the suffering in Ukraine but also to prevent similar situations worldwide in the future," said Yermak.

The group will focus on developing expert conclusions and recommendations to suggest practical steps and mechanisms for the return of Ukrainian children.

Using Ukraine's experience, group members will work on improving the existing international legal framework to prevent similar situations of child rights violations worldwide.

According to Yermak, achieving this goal is only possible through joint coordinated efforts of Ukraine, the expert community, and the international community. The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, formed last month, serves as a platform for coordinating efforts between Ukraine and partner states.

Co-chair of the International expert group, Baroness Kennedy, called the issue of returning deported Ukrainian children extremely important. According to her, Ukraine and its partners need a strategy for global coordination for the important work of returning Ukrainian children from Russia. In the future, Ukraine's experience will serve as the basis for improving international law.

"Taking children, abducting them from their families and the place they know, to deprive them of a sense of belonging to the nation, their identity — this is an extremely destructive thing for a nation. So, besides bombings, you are experiencing the abduction of your youth. And I think that is why most of the world sympathizes with you," said Kennedy. She added that many countries are ready to join in developing effective mechanisms.

Lubinets stressed that the international community, particularly this working group, should compel Russia to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the norms of international humanitarian law.

He noted that Russia often provides no information about the whereabouts of underage Ukrainian citizens, and it takes a long time to prove that a child is indeed Ukrainian.

According to the ombudsman, sometimes a child can be returned by convening a special session of the UN Security Council initiated by Ukraine, with the help of relatives who dared to go to Russia and take their children back, or with the assistance of intermediaries, including Qatar. The help of UNICEF is also effective.

"We are ready to involve anyone from international intermediaries who can truly show results: help us bring a Ukrainian child from the territory of the Russian Federation to the territory of Ukraine. We will definitely not refuse any initiatives or intermediaries," said Lubinets.

The work of the international expert group "Bring Kids Back UA" is expected to play a crucial role in defining priorities for the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which was established in early December 2023.

What we know about deportations of children to the Temporary Occupied Territories and Russia

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, the hostile military forces have been abducting Ukrainian children to Russia and territories under their control. Ukraine has created a map of camps where children are sent and kept.

On the occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian occupiers intensify the forced imposition of Russian aggressive ideology.

Moreover, the national resistance reports that on temporarily occupied territories, Russian occupiers detain children to pressure their parents.

Russians have also reportedly recruited Crimean schoolchildren into the "Young Army."

Ombudsman Lubinets stated that over 19,500 Ukrainian children were officially confirmed as deported. As of December 28, Ukraine confirmed the illegal deportation of 19,546 children.

On January 4, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed an order allowing Ukrainian children to be granted Russian citizenship. Citizenship will be provided so that deported Ukrainian children "legally do not remain in the Russian Federation."