Russia committed crimes against humanity through deportation of Ukrainian children, UN inquiry finds
The forced deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia throughout its full-scale war in Ukraine amounts to crimes against humanity, a United Nations (UN) investigation published on March 10 found.
Since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s national "Children of War" database has documented 20,000 Ukrainian children that have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas.
"The Commission concluded that crimes against humanity and war crimes by Russian authorities have targeted children, who are among the most vulnerable victims," a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found.
The report is expected to be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council on March 12.
The commission, which studied 1,205 cases of Russian child abductions and conducted over 200 interviews, according to the report, concluded that the abductions constituted "a well-established pattern of conduct, indicating that these acts have been widespread and systematic."
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian minors. Moscow has rejected the allegations.
In addressing top Russian officials role in the abductions, the report further found Putin's involvement in the execution of Moscow's policies "has been visible from the outset."
"The Russian authorities at the highest levels – including Mr. Putin and entities directly answerable to him, as well as authorities at the regional level, and in the Russian occupied areas of Ukraine, have coordinated practical modalities to carry out these deportations and transfers, and to further relocate the children in the Russian Federation," the report read. "These acts have been committed following a consistent and carefully organized plan and modus operandi, initiated already before the full-scale invasion."
Ukrainian officials estimate the real figure of abducted children could be far higher. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets puts the number at up to 150,000, while Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Daria Herasymchuk has given a range of 200,000–300,000.
While Kyiv has made progress on returning some of the children, thus far fewer than 2,000 of the abducted Ukrainian children have been returned to their Ukrainian families.
