How Ukraine is bringing back children from deportation. The role of the UN and South Africa in negotiations: an interview with Yekaterina Rashevskaya, a lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights.
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2024-11-30 10:46:32https://ua.news/ru/ukraine/kak-ukrayna-vozvrashhaet-detej-yz-deportatsyy-o-roly-oon-y-pryvlechenyy-k-peregovoram-yuar-yntervyu-ekateryny-rashevskoj-yurystky-regyonalnogo-tsentra-po-pravam-cheloveka
--> Ekaterina Rashevskaya, a lawyer from the public organization "Regional Center for Human Rights," discusses the struggle for Ukrainian children on the international level, the role of intermediary countries, and the criminal policies of the Russians. She has advocated for the issue of deported Ukrainian children at the UN headquarters and during a trip to the Republic of South Africa.
On November 20, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved the annual resolution that describes Russia's aggression as the "aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine," and this resolution is aimed at protecting and returning deported children. How did the recent voting at the UN go, and why is this resolution so important for Ukraine?
Ekaterina Rashevskaya: Initially, the UN resolution was focused solely on the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. After the full-scale invasion, it had to be expanded. The fact is that the Russian Federation has fully adapted its totalitarian policies to the Crimean Peninsula.
Persecutions, deportation of civilians, including children, and the eradication of identity - all of this has already occurred. Russian officials felt they could act with absolute impunity and disregard from the international community. As a result, they repeated their terror on a larger scale in newly occupied territories.
5 Photo: Facebook Kateryna Rashevska (UN September 2023)
Each year, we attend the UN to advocate for support of this resolution. Because, in reality, its annual voting is somewhat problematic. It’s essential to understand that states that find it convenient to abstain will continue to do so. This way, the movement can go in the opposite direction. We might lose votes from states that support us simply because they choose to abstain. Consequently, there is a risk that the resolution may not be voted on at all.
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According to the "Children of War" portal, Russians forcibly took at least 19,546 Ukrainian children. Unfortunately, this number continues to rise. Given the aggressive stance of the Russians, it seems they have no intention of returning these children without significant pressure. Therefore, the fight for their return is ongoing at various levels, including internationally.
UA.News spoke with experts about the nature and consequences of Russia's violent policies against Ukrainian children, how the state retrieves them from deportation and occupied territories, and why this issue is not only relevant to human rights defenders and families whose children have been taken by Russians, but also concerns the entire Ukrainian society.
On November 20, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved the annual resolution that describes Russia's aggression as the "aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine," and this resolution is aimed at protecting and returning deported children. How did the recent voting at the UN go, and why is this resolution so important for Ukraine?
Ekaterina Rashevskaya: Initially, the UN resolution was focused solely on the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. After the full-scale invasion, it had to be expanded. The fact is that the Russian Federation has fully adapted its totalitarian policies to the Crimean Peninsula.
Persecutions, deportation of civilians, including children, and the eradication of identity - all of this has already occurred. Russian officials felt they could act with absolute impunity and disregard from the international community. As a result, they repeated their terror on a larger scale in newly occupied territories.
5 Photo: Facebook Kateryna Rashevska (UN September 2023)Each year, we attend the UN to advocate for support of this resolution. Because, in reality, its annual voting is somewhat problematic. It’s essential to understand that states that find it convenient to abstain will continue to do so. This way, the movement can go in the opposite direction. We might lose votes from states that support us simply because they choose to abstain. Consequently, there is a risk that the resolution may not be voted on at all.
6 Photo: