Parliament, together with the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, will work on unifying sanction lists for russia’s crimes against Ukrainian children — Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk

This week, a series of expert meetings for People’s Deputies of Ukraine took place, dedicated to the deportation, forced transfer, indoctrination, and militarisation of Ukrainian children by russia.

The meetings are taking place within the framework of a joint platform established by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the initiative of the President of Ukraine, Bring Kids Back UA, with the support of Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.

The first meeting held this week was dedicated to the reintegration and most pressing needs of children who have been returned from the russian federation and the temporarily occupied territories. Participants of the event also discussed the results of the Second High-Level International Conference in Toronto, "Paths to Peace," regarding assistance to such children.

As reported by Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk, according to the latest data, 2,689 children have been successfully returned. Among their primary needs are the restoration of lost identity documents, social housing, access to education, and ongoing support in receiving social, psychological, and other assistance.

"Currently, the most active support for the reintegration of children is provided by international partners through non-governmental organisations and charitable foundations. It is necessary for a comprehensive state social service for reintegration support to become fully operational at the level of the local communities where these children reside. Such a service is being developed by the Ministry of Social Policy. We will closely monitor its implementation through parliamentary oversight," emphasized Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.

"Since 2023, we have been working to ensure that every child and young person receives support tailored to their needs upon return. Our goal is to integrate this support into state policy and the system of public services, introduce a unified standard of reintegration support, and expand the network of service providers in local communities. This will enable us to provide systemic support to children and youth, regardless of where they live," noted in turn Kyrylo Lapko, Deputy Head of the Coordination Centre for the Development of Family Care and Childcare.

The second thematic expert meeting addressed the strengthening of sanctions against russia for the alteration of identity (indoctrination) and the militarisation of Ukrainian children. "Brainwashing and preparing Ukrainian children for service in the russian army are grave international crimes. russia has established an entire state system for the indoctrination of Ukrainian children, involving high-ranking officials, state institutions and companies, individuals, and so-called 'patriotic' non-governmental organisations and movements," noted Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.

According to her, the most effective countermeasure is publicity and international sanctions.

"It cannot be that someone in russia or in the temporarily occupied territories commits crimes against Ukrainian children today and travels peacefully to Europe for holiday or conducts business there tomorrow. These criminals must feel the consequences of their actions directly and immediately through personal sanctions," emphasized Olena Kondratiuk.

The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada recalled: an analysis of seven key jurisdictions shows that only 5% of sanctioned individuals are present in all lists simultaneously. Meanwhile, 42% of individuals included in the Ukrainian sanction list are completely absent from the lists of our international partners.

"Together with the People’s Deputies and Bring Kids Back UA, we have agreed to intensify and coordinate our joint work on unifying sanction lists between Ukraine, the EU, the United Kingdom, and other member states of the Council of Europe for crimes against Ukrainian children. The creation of such a unified list is provided for by PACE resolutions. We will also raise this issue during the debate on the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, which is scheduled for this year in the European Parliament," reported Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.

"Coordinated efforts translate into concrete sanction decisions. Prior to the meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels, Ukraine handed over to its partners a unified list compiled on the basis of information from state structures and non-governmental organisations. This helped align the sanction decisions of our partners. At the conference in Toronto, the European Union and Canada announced new sanction packages for crimes against Ukrainian children. Together with parliamentarians, governments, and non-governmental organisations, we must push for new decisions so that sanctions cover more of those involved in these crimes, operate in a greater number of countries, and effectively restrict the capabilities of those who organise and commit them. All perpetrators must be identified and held accountable," noted Maksym Maksymov, Head of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative.

The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Olena Kondratiuk, also expressed her gratitude to Maksym Maksymov, Head of the initiative of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA, the involved experts, and all People’s Deputies of Ukraine who joined the platform, for their joint work and productive communication.