File image of a girl taking refuge in Zaporizhzhya. Ukraine/European Press.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an NGO that specializes in monitoring the international humanitarian situation, said the war in Ukraine had “devastating” consequences for children, especially those detained by Ukrainian state institutions. I warned you that It was taken over by Russia during the invasion, resulting in the deportation of minors to Russian territory.
According to Ukrainian government figures collected by NGOs, shortly before the Russian invasion, there were approximately 105,000 children in residential facilities in Ukraine, nearly half of whom were disabled, according to the United Nations. After the invasion, 100 institutions housing about 32,000 minors came under full or partial Russian control.
In summary, “Ukrainian activists and lawyers indicate that at least thousands of these children were deported to Russia or other occupied territories.”
It should be remembered that the Russian parliament amended the law in May 2022 to allow authorities to grant Ukrainian children Russian citizenship. Russian authorities themselves have admitted that hundreds of Ukrainian children have been “adopted” since the war began.
At the time, in a joint statement, Human Rights Watch and 42 other organizations condemned these “forced adoptions and transfers” and urged Russia to identify these children and We asked for access to UN and other agency personnel to ensure their health. Facilitates return to Ukraine.
education deficit
The situation of children detained in Ukraine, as recognized by the Ukrainian government itself, was already quite serious even before the war.
In fact, 9 out of 10 institutionalized children in Ukraine are full-entitled parents who prefer to keep their children in these institutions because they lack the money to care for them at home. I have. The Ukrainian government also acknowledges that “internal detention is inherently harmful to young children,” her NGO quotes.
Ukraine has not resolved the crisis since 2005. All attempts at reform have failed, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to work on a plan to deprive children of their rights as he seeks to join the European Union.
Chaos Abroad
Things are not so good for children who manage to escape Ukraine and find themselves caught up in the bureaucratic chaos that awaits them abroad.
“When the children were evacuated abroad from the institutions they lived in, some ended up not being registered because refugees fled in disarray during the first weeks of the war,” recalls the NGO.
Ukraine insists children displaced from boarding schools must live with them outside the country, creating logistical problems for countries with more advanced early childhood education policies.
In order to avoid overcrowding and focus as much as possible on children’s development, it is illegal in Poland to house more than 14 children in boarding schools. Volunteers had to restore a former orphanage to house displaced children from Ukraine.
“This brutal war underscores the need to end the dangers faced by children in custody,” recalls Bill Van Esveld, HRW’s Deputy Director for Children’s Rights.
“While the return of children illegally abducted by Russian forces should be an international priority, Ukraine and its allies are committed to the right of all Ukrainian children to live in families rather than in institutions. can and must be enjoyed,” he warned.
Source: Diario.Elmundo
