Ukraine has accused Russia of abducting Ukrainian children and giving them up for adoption en masse. The United Nations (UN) is concerned about the situation of these children during the war in Ukraine and reports a simplified procedure with which Ukrainian children can be quickly adopted by Russian families.
Deportations of Ukrainian children
As the UN Human Rights Office in New York reports, there are credible indications that “unaccompanied minors” are being forcibly relocated to Russian-occupied territories or to Russia itself. The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Brands Kehris, reports to the Security Council about the concern of all staff in her office. The Russian authorities have introduced a “simplified procedure” through which Ukrainian children without parental care are granted Russian citizenship – and that these children “are eligible for adoption by Russian families”.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Kiev also says:
“Russia continues to abduct children from Ukrainian territory and arrange for their illegal adoption by Russian citizens.” According to the data, more than a thousand children from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol were “illegally handed over to strangers in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and the Siberian Republic of Altai.” More than 300 children are also housed in “special facilities” in the Krasnodar region.
Human rights violations – torture and sexual violence
Even before the latest information, the UN drew attention to the Russian deportation camps in the Ukrainian war zones . But now children are also said to be affected and are being searched for a program known as filtration. According to Kehris, their personal belongings are also collected, mobile devices are examined and biometric data is stored. This process apparently required complete physical searches, during which many people - including children - had to completely undress.
For this reason, there are currently numerous human rights violations. According to the UN, there is “credible information” on this issue and that it is particularly concerned about possible sexual assaults against women and girls.
The “filtrations” are intended to take place among people who want to leave a combat zone or cross areas under Russian control. If it were determined during data collection that these were citizens with possible proximity to the armed forces or the Kiev government, they would be tortured and sent to Russian penal colonies. Furthermore, Russia is drawing up a list of Ukrainians who are to be subjected to filtration, as information from the US government shows, the spokesman said. The Kremlin also receives reports on the extent and progress of these procedures.
Accusations and demands
As a result of the deportations and allegations of sexual violence, the city of Kiev is now accusing Moscow of violating the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Civilians and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. “All Ukrainian children illegally brought to Russia must be returned to their parents or guardians,” the Foreign Ministry demanded.
Similar to Kiev, the US government also accuses Russian President Putin of organizing and carrying out the forced relocations of Ukrainians themselves.
There was also an accusation regarding the “filtrations”, this time from the spokesman for the State Department in Washington. Accordingly, these procedures target people who could pose a threat to Russian rule.
Since the beginning of the Russian offensive, there have been repeated accusations from Kiev against Moscow, especially because Ukrainians in the areas occupied by Russian troops were forced to leave their homeland - but always towards Russia.
Sources
> US Embassy and Consulates in Germany
At the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, condemned the Russian practice of “filtration” of Ukrainians in camps .
> United Nations
> Merkur
> Tagesschau
> Kurier
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Author: Nick L.
Notes:
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