cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/49410645

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.

Here is the original report (pdf).

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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.

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