Counteracting the illegal transfer of persons to the russian-controlled territories.
Establishing criminal liability for the forced transfer of a person, including a minor, committed under martial law.
International initiatives to return all our citizens home.
As part of the Ukrainian delegation to the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Halyna Mykhailyuk, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Law Enforcement, highlighted these and other issues in a panel discussion on “War Crimes, Genocide and Deportation of Children”.
Yevhen Mezhovyi, a single father from Mariupol, who was imprisoned by the russian occupiers in Olenivka and his three children were deported to russia, also told his personal story. All those present heard real stories of horrors that russian invaders commit on the territory of Ukraine every day.
Halyna Mykhailyuk noted that the issue of returning Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the territory of the russian federation is one of the priority areas of activity for government agencies, national and international partners, and the Committee on Law Enforcement.
At the same time, in the legislative dimension, the need to criminalize the forcible transfer of a person, including a minor, outside the territory of Ukraine remains relevant.
To this end, members of the Committee and other MPs initiated a draft law on amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the forced transfer of a person outside the territory of Ukraine, reg. 9204.
The Committee recommended that the Parliament adopt it as a basis in the first reading and it is currently awaiting consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
It is important to understand that the deportation of Ukrainian children is one of the gravest crimes against humanity committed by the russian federation during the war in Ukraine.
Each story of the return of our children is a whole special operation, and the efforts of the international community can speed up this complex process. Thanks to the mediation and influence of partner countries such as Qatar, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and international organizations such as UNICEF and others, Ukraine has already managed to return 517 children.