Hearing of the PACE Parliamentary Network on the situation of children in Ukraine took place in Paris

Deportation, forced transfers, forced Russian citizenship, the erasure of Ukrainian identity and militarisation are not isolated violations. They are interconnected elements of Russia’s deliberate policy against Ukrainian children.

On 16 September in Paris, the PACE Parliamentary Network on the Situation of the Children of Ukraine held a hearing focused on securing the return of deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children and ensuring accountability for those responsible.

Representatives of the UN, Ukrainian authorities, Bring Kids Back UA, experts of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism and the International Criminal Court presented evidence of systematic violations of children’s rights.

Head of Bring Kids Back UA Maksym Maksymov stressed that Russia has turned Ukrainian children into a tool of war and propaganda. It separates them from their families, moves them deep into its territory, imposes Russian citizenship, erases their names, language and identity, and prepares them for its army. Each element reinforces the next, forming a system of purposeful design.

Thousands of cases have been documented, yet only a fraction of the children have returned — mostly without Russia’s cooperation.

UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Vanessa Frazier stressed the need to identify and trace every child to enable their return and reintegration.

PACE called on parliamentarians to turn the evidence into concrete action: strengthen identification and tracing, preserve and share evidence, support investigations, secure the children’s return and hold every perpetrator accountable.

Every Ukrainian child must be found and brought home.