Russia's forced deportation of Ukrainian children may be recognized as crime against humanity 

This is stated in a special report presented in the OSCE on Thursday, May 4, by the mission of special rapporteurs, which operated within the framework of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism.

The report states that although the mission was unable to establish the exact number of children deported or transferred, "it is clear that these numbers are measured in several thousands." The total number could be even higher, as "both the Russian Federation and Ukraine indicate figures amounting to hundreds of thousands of children."

In addition, the report says that "non-consensual evacuations, transfers and prolonged displacement of Ukrainian children constitute violations of IHL, and in certain cases amount to grave breaches of the Geneva Convention IV and war crimes." The speakers, in particular, mentioned the procedure of separation of parents and children at the filtration points established by the Russian occupation authorities and noted that this practice is particularly horrifying.

The mission stated that it "has been able to establish with certainty that by and large the deportation of children cannot be qualified as voluntary". The report concluded that "the practice of the forcible transfer and/or deportation of Ukrainian children to the temporarily occupied territories and to the territory of the Russian Federation may amount to a crime against humanity."

Therefore, the report recommended:

• To immediately cease the practices of forcible transfer of Ukraine’s children within temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and/or their forcible deportation to the Russian Federation.

• Without delay provide comprehensive lists of the names and whereabouts of all children who have been forcibly transferred or deported

• Establish appropriate procedures for and actively assist family reunifications of all children who have been forcibly transferred or deported from Ukraine

• Immediately cease the current practice of expedited admission into the Russian citizenship of Ukrainians, especially children

The report was created within the framework of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, which allows expert commissions to be created and sent to participating states to help them address human rights issues.

Finland's Ambassador to the OSCE  Vesa Häkkinen, speaking on behalf of 45 OSCE participating states, said that Russia should return deported Ukrainian children to Ukraine.

"The report on the deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia is clear: Russia violates IHL and HR law - in some cases gravely. Russia must return the children to Ukraine. Now," Häkkinen tweeted.