ECHR holds a hearing in the case concerning ten Ukrainian children missing in occupied Crimea

In Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights held an oral hearing in the individual case “Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on behalf of ten Ukrainian children v. Russia,” in which the Government of Ukraine is participating as a third party and is represented by a delegation of the Ministry of Justice headed by Margarita Sokorenko, Government Agent before the European Court of Human Rights.

The case concerns ten Ukrainian children deprived of parental care who were staying in childcare institutions at the beginning of the occupation of Crimea in 2014. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Margarita Sokorenko presented Ukraine’s position on the practice of forcibly imposing Russian citizenship in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and its consequences, the connection between the situation of the Crimean children and human rights violations recognized in the interstate cases “Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea)” and “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia,” as well as Russia’s refusal to cooperate with Ukrainian authorities and independent international organizations.

Seven Ukrainian and international organizations also joined the case as third parties. They provided materials concerning, in particular, Russia’s policy aimed at the indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children and the destruction of their Ukrainian identity.

Among them is the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), which was represented at the hearing by its Director, Baroness Helena Kennedy. The involvement of the Institute’s experts was facilitated by the initiative of the President of Ukraine, Bring Kids Back UA.

Ukraine calls on the Court to hold Russia responsible for violations of the rights of these children, oblige it to provide information about them, and ensure their return under the control of Ukrainian authorities.

More details via link: https://shorturl.at/Qa1mF