PACE Begins Hearings on Fate of Ukrainian Children Abducted by Russia
On December 15, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) began hearings in Paris on the situation of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, the PACE press service and the Ukrainian government news agency Ukrinform reported.
The meeting was opened by PACE President Tiny Kox and Vice President Olena Khomenko.
The session, moderated by Khomenko, is dedicated to the situation of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred to Russia, Belarus or the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
The hearings will also focus on Ukrainian children who are currently in Council of Europe member states.
"The purpose of this meeting is to continue to fulfil our commitments to Ukrainian society. I would very much like our Assembly to find a solution on how we can help return the children taken from Ukraine. We also want to make life easier for the children who remain in Ukraine," said Tiny Kox.
According to him, Ukrainian children are the main victims of this war, and many of them ended up in his country, the Netherlands. "We are happy to be able to take them in, but we have to understand that no matter how well we take care of them, these children are still victims. We have to do what we can - focus on their educational opportunities and access to healthcare as best we can," Kox said.
Olena Khomenko called for using all the opportunities of the Assembly to develop real tools to help Ukrainian children.
"Since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Assembly has expressed a strong political commitment to assist the Ukrainian authorities, including by helping to find possible solutions for the safe return of children deported from Ukraine to their families," she said.
At the hearing, Maryna Slobodnichenko, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine for European Integration, spoke about the work of Ukrainian children's hospitals in the war and about programmes for the treatment of Ukrainian children abroad.
Liene Dambina, Chairman of the Board of the Children's Hospital Foundation of Latvia, made a presentation on access to healthcare for young IDPs and how Latvia cares not only about physical but also about mental health.
The Ukrainian authorities are represented at the meeting by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and Viktoriya Lytvynova, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
In April, 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 and called on the International Criminal Court to consider prosecuting this crime. PACE adopted a resolution.