The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk delivered a speech at a meeting of the Parliament of Ukraine on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance of Children Victims of russian aggression.
“Iryna Tsybukh, who died in the Kharkiv region, dreamed of children most of all. Today, honouring the blessed memory of Iryna Tsybukh "Cheka", we also commemorate the Day of Remembrance of Children Victims of russian aggression. Today is the International Day of Innocent Children killed in Conflicts all over the world. 550 Ukrainian children were killed. Wounded — 1366.
There are 15 victims of sexual violence. Abducted, illegally displaced or deported — 19,546,” reminded Olena Kondratiuk.
According to her, these are only official figures: “We can only guess how many more Ukrainian children have suffered in the occupied territories. How many more small bodies are lying in unmarked graves, never identified by anyone.”
The Vice Speaker informed the Ukrainian MPs that last week another legislative body of the world, the Parliament of Moldova, recognised russia's actions to abduct Ukrainian children as genocide. “After my recent visit to Chisinau, our Moldovan colleagues introduced a resolution and voted in favour of it,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
She also thanked the journalists of The New York Times, who published a huge investigation into how the russians abducted children from the Kherson children’s home. “The journalists have done an incredible job of unravelling the whole story and tracking the fate of the abducted children. Most of them already have russian documents, some adopted by russian families. The New York Times unequivocally treats this case as a war crime,” said Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.
In addition, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has launched a website with a list of sanctioned individuals. “There is a separate section on criminals involved in the illegal movement of children. This section currently contains 216 russian officials and other individuals. But there should be more, much more!” said Olena Kondratiuk.
At the same time, the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine noted that under the Ukrainian Criminal Code, crimes of abduction and transfer of children are treated under Article 438 on violation of the laws and customs of war.
“This article has a very broad application and does not contain a direct clause on crimes against children.I am convinced that our children deserve to have all crimes against them during the war investigated under a separate article of the Criminal Code, which would clearly list all violations and clearly interpret international conventions and protocols,” emphasised Olena Kondratiuk.
According to the Vice-Speaker, national legislation should contain all the necessary articles so that the International Criminal Court can rely on a solid body of cases initiated in Ukraine in its investigation.
“So that the UN General Assembly can develop a legal mechanism for the return of our children, which would take into account not only the fact of abduction or deportation of children, but also the facts of obstruction in their identification, the facts of illegal delay of repatriation,” said Olena Kondratiuk.