GENEVA: Russia insisted at the United Nations on Tuesday that it had not forcibly moved any Ukrainian children to Russia since its invasion in February 2022, contradicting claims by Kyiv and NGOs.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child asked Moscow how many children have been “evacuated” to Russia or within Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine since the invasion began.
Kyiv estimates that 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly moved to Russia.
“From February 2022, since then, the Russian Federation has not been involved in the deportation of citizens of Ukraine on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Alexey Vovchenko, Russia’s deputy minister of labor and social protection, told the UN committee.
The panel of 18 independent experts is examining Russia’s record as part of a regular review that all countries have to undergo.
“Just over three million residents of Ukraine — a number of them were children — these were accepted into the Russian Federation,” said Vovchenko, head of Moscow’s delegation at the hearing.
“Most of the children came with their families or the guardians. They were placed in temporary shelters or with relatives.”
But he indicated that checks were under way concerning the situation of “over 5,000 children.”
Of the children moved by Russia since the invasion, only about 400 have so far been repatriated, says Kyiv.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
The ICC has levelled similar charges against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.
Russia is not a member of the ICC and insists the warrant against Putin is “void.”
“Placements for evacuated children are arranged, first and foremost, at their request and with their consent,” Russia told the UN committee in a written response in October last year.
As for the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which the Kremlin says are now part of Russia, Vovchenko said around 2,000 residents of orphanages and boarding homes were “moved to the Russian Federation.”
They were “accompanied with the directors and staff of the boarding homes where they had lived previously,” he said.
“Ukrainian authorities previous to this were not particularly concerned, we believe, by the state or health of these individuals,” the minister added.
Responding to committee questions, Vovchenko said it was not known how many Russian children had lost their fathers fighting in Ukraine.
Russia at UN denies deporting Ukrainian children
https://arab.news/jd4vs
Russia at UN denies deporting Ukrainian children
- Kyiv estimates that 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly moved to Russia
- “The Russian Federation has not been involved in the deportation of citizens of Ukraine,” Russia’s deputy minister of labor and social protection told the UN committee
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
