31 May 2023, 16:53
This was stated by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko during the Conference on the International Children’s Day “UA: War. Unsung Lullaby” at the panel “Stolen from the Cradle. Deportation and Genocide”.
Children’s issues should be at the highest level of the agenda of interparliamentary diplomacy
“Deportation is genocide, which is clearly stated in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” said the First Vice-Speaker, stressing that children’s issues should be at the highest level of the agenda of inter-parliamentary diplomacy. He said that there is already movement on this track, as the parliaments of states have begun to condemn the deportation of Ukrainian children to the territories of the russian federation and call on the international community to bring the perpetrators to justice. “In the future, we plan to pay even more attention to this issue in order to get more relevant decisions from the world’s states,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.
He also noted that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognised the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of the russian federation as genocide: “It is necessary to respond to this state policy of russia through international legal mechanisms, bringing the perpetrators to justice.” On 16-17 May, the Council of Europe held a historic summit in Reykjavik, which laid the foundations for a mechanism to punish the russian federation for its aggression. The summit participants approved the establishment of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression and condemned the deportation of Ukrainian citizens, including children.
The return of children to their homeland is included in the Bring Kids Back UA plan
“The establishment of an international special tribunal will help investigate crimes of deportation – the entire diplomatic team of Ukraine, headed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrii Yermak, is working on this,” the First Vice Speaker said.
He also stressed that it is necessary to stop the
abduction of children and the world’s attitude to it, as well as to work in
terms of interparliamentary cooperation, which is part of the Bring Kids Back
UA plan, to return children to their homeland – Ukraine. “The Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine will continue to be always ready to bring justice and the process of
returning little Ukrainians home closer,” he stressed.
For reference. The conference dedicated to the International Children’s Day “UA: War. The Unsung Lullaby” was organised with the participation of the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.