The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a resolution aimed at ensuring the protection of the rights of children deported or forcibly displaced due to the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine. The implementation of the resolution is intended to improve the process of collecting, analysing and recording information on such children, facilitate the organisation of their return to Ukraine and exchange of information with international institutions in order to stop the gross violation of international humanitarian law by the aggressor state.

An important step in this process will be the creation and maintenance of a special Register of information on children deported or forcibly displaced due to the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine (hereinafter – the Register). This Register will become an important tool for further tracing and returning such children to Ukraine. The Register will allow state authorities to work effectively with data on each child, including the possibility of quick verification of information and data exchange with international organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

According to the resolution, the Register is created and maintained by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The Register is administered by the State Enterprise “National Information Systems”.

To ensure the accuracy and relevance of the information, the resolution provides for the establishment of an Interagency Commission for the verification of information on children deported or forcibly displaced due to the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine. The Commission will be responsible for verifying data on children. It will include representatives from several ministries, which will allow for the combined efforts of various agencies to effectively protect the interests of children.

The document also envisages active cooperation with international organisations. The Ministry of Justice, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is obliged to establish a regular exchange of information with international partners, including the Red Cross, to ensure the protection of children’s interests in the international arena.

“Since the beginning of russia’s armed aggression, mass deportations and forced displacement of Ukrainian children have become a regular occurrence. These actions violate the basic provisions of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts and other international instruments to which Ukraine has acceded. We will continue to do everything we can to protect the rights of Ukrainian children abducted by the aggressor and return them to Ukraine, including through international legal instruments. And the creation of the Register is an important step in this direction,” said Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice.