Austria Passes Resolution on Protection and Return of Ukrainian Children
The National Council of Austria has unanimously adopted a resolution titled “Protection and assistance to Ukrainian children,” marking a significant gesture of support for Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to safeguard children affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Vice Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Olena Kondratiuk, The Gaze reports.
The initiative followed a personal appeal by the Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during her recent working visit to Vienna, where she met with the Speaker of the National Council, Walter Rosenkranz, as well as parliamentary factions and newly elected members of the Austrian Lower House.
With this resolution, the Austrian Parliament calls on its Federal Government, and in particular the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, to take the following steps:
• Continue efforts at the European, international, and bilateral levels to protect and assist children in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Take measures to facilitate the return of deported Ukrainian children and to support the prosecution of those responsible for crimes related to forced deportations.
The resolution underscores Austria’s commitment to international law and human rights, and aligns with broader European efforts to address the illegal deportation and assimilation of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation—a practice widely condemned by the international community as a war crime.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on 16 April has officially begun reviewing a case concerning the adoption of Ukrainian children by Russian citizens in Crimea, a region under temporary Russian occupation since 2014.
As The Gaze previously reported, Russia is planning a large-scale deportation of more than 50,000 Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied Donetsk region under the pretense of summer “vacations” in Russia.