Country: Ukraine Source: UN Human Rights Council Please refer to the attached files. UN Commission concludes that deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities, as well as enforced disappearances, amount to crimes against humanity GENEVA/VIENNA – Russian authoriti es committed the crimes against humanity of deportation and forcible transfer of children, and of their enforced disappearance, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in its latest report to the Human Rights Council, which is complemented by a conference room paper . Thousands of children have been deported to the Russian Federation or transferred to occupied areas in Ukraine by Russian authorities, according to the Commission. It has so far verified the deportation or transfer of over 1,200 children from five regions in Ukraine. Shortly before the full-scale invasion, the Russian authorities undertook large-scale relocations, which they justified as “evacuations” due to the risks of the armed conflict. But the Commission found that four years later, 80 per cent of the children from the documented cases have not been returned. This contravenes international humanitarian law, under which evacuations can only be temporary for compelling reasons of health, medical treatment or safety. “The deportation and forcible transfer of children is a grave violation of international law,” said Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission. “Children must never be separated from their families coercively.” Russian authorities have coordinated legislative, administrative, and practical measures to facilitate deportations, transfers and subsequent placement of children in families and institutions in the Russian Federation. Some of these measures were adopted in the days preceding the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion. The evidence collected demonstrates that authorities acted pursuant to a policy conceived and executed at the highest level of the Russian Federation’s leadership. The involvement of President Vladimir Putin, and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, has been visible from the outset. This policy has been implemented by authorities and institutions across various branches of power at central and regional levels in the Russian Federation, as well as in the occupied territories in Ukraine. Russian authorities have systematically failed to disclose the whereabouts of the children to parents or legal guardians and have kept children in a coercive environment making their return to families almost impossible. Instead of establishing a system facilitating the return of children, Russian authorities placed them under long-term arrangements with families or institutions in 21 regions of the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories. They systematically granted Russian citizenship to the children whom they deported or transferred and their profiles were also placed on adoption databases. Families and children had to take it upon themselves to locate one another. The returns that could be organized occurred after obstacles, delays, and security risks. Four years on, most of the families are still looking for their children, resulting in lengthy separations, distress and suffering. This amounts to the war crime of unjustifiable delay in the repatriation of civilians. The Commission further investigated the conduct of trials by courts in the Russian Federation and in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine. During the trials, Russian authorities systematically presented evidence that was fabricated by use of torture. Civilians and prisoners of war were deprived of fundamental fair trial guarantees, as the guilt of the accused was presumed from the outset demonstrating the lack of independence and impartiality of the courts. The Commission found that the Russian authorities committed grave breaches of international humanitarian law, which constitutes war crimes. The Commission has continued to document cases of sexual violence committed by Russian armed forces. In one case, a girl as young as 13 years was the victim of rape. In another, a woman had a child as a result of rape. The Commission also investigated the circumstances of nationals from 17 countries recruited to fight with Russian armed forces in Ukraine. It found that many had been deceived and lured from abroad through promises of civilian employment or other lucrative arrangements. They were coerced to sign contracts written in Russian, which they did not understand, and sent to the frontline without necessary training. The Commission interviewed 85 soldiers who had served in the Russian armed forces in connection with the fighting in Ukraine and subsequently deserted. Most testified about violent practices arbitrarily ordered or tolerated by commanders, including executions, beatings, and detaining soldiers in pits or tying them to trees. Their accounts demonstrate a total disregard for human life and digni
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