Russia to hold UN meeting on Ukraine kids taken to Russia

By Stermy 3 Min Read

In early April, Russia intends to convene an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss what it calls “the real situation” of Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia, a matter that has gained attention since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges related to their abduction.

According to Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the country had planned the council meeting well in advance of the ICC’s announcement last Friday. Russia is scheduled to hold the rotating presidency of the council in April.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The court accused Putin of being responsible for war crimes related to the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia.

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Ukraine welcomed the announcement of the warrants as a first step towards holding Russia accountable for crimes committed during its Feb. 14, 2022, invasion. However, Moscow, which is not a party to the court, dismissed the action as “legally void” and “outrageous.”

The announcement of the arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova came after a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which was released on Thursday. The report provided evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia, and highlighted the difficulties that parents and children face in establishing contact with each other. The commission found that these forced deportations violate international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime.

According to the Ukrainian government, a total of 16,221 children have been taken to Russia since the start of the war. International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Putin Over War Crimes In Ukraine

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan urged Russia to return the Ukrainian children and repatriate them during a conference of justice ministers from over 30 countries in London on Monday, as quoted by the Courthouse News Service.

Russia’s Nebenzia called the issue of the children “totally overblown” and said that Moscow planned to explain at the Security Council meeting, scheduled for around April 6, that they had been taken to Russia to protect them from the dangers of military activities.

When asked whether Russia planned to return the children, Nebenzia replied that they would be returned when conditions were safe.

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