Actions taken:
Ukraine`s children have been hit hardest as a result of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It caused one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children, with more than half of Ukraine’s children displaced, and has had a tremendous impact on their safety, mental health, well-being, and access to essential services, including healthcare and education. Thousands of children have reportedly been killed or injured; more than 7.5 million children have suffered from psychological trauma.
Saving children`s lives and ensuring their protection and rights have been an immediate priority for Ukraine.
Since February 2022, more than 20 legal acts have been approved to ensure the safety and protection of Ukraine`s children during martial law.
The Government of Ukraine, in particular, the security and defence sector of Ukraine, regional and local authorities, and civil society have been focusing on raising awareness of the norms of international humanitarian and human rights law and international protocols for providing assistance to children victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV); amending national legislation to integrate the proper response to cases of CRSV, the algorithm for the interaction of response subjects and the provision of assistance to victims of CRSV.
On 17 March 2022, Ukraine established the Coordination Headquarters for the Protection of Children’s Rights under Martial Law, co-chaired by the Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation and the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine. On 10 March 2023, the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories was appointed as its Chair.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Protection of Children’s Rights Under Martial Law has been coordinating activities to:
– ensure safe transfer (evacuation) of children who live or are enrolled for a 24-hour stay in institutions of various types, forms of ownership and subordination, children arranged in family forms of education, to a safe territory;
– ensure safe movement (evacuation) of children placed in foster care, family-type children’s homes, families of guardians, custodians, and foster carers;
– establish “Green corridors” for evacuation of institutions for children in need;
– monitor the condition and needs of children who have returned from institutions to their parents in order to provide the necessary assistance;
– ensure access to education for children displaced within the territory of Ukraine and monitor children`s access to education abroad;
– monitor the condition and needs of children living in institutions;
– promote digitization of the consular registration procedure for children temporarily displaced abroad;
– provide passport services;
– rehabilitate injured children, children with limb amputations, providing them with prostheses;
– ensure the proper functioning of the judicial system under martial law;
– regulate the procedures for the adoption of children – orphans and children deprived of parental care, under martial law;
– promote the integration of evacuated children in new places of residence;
– monitor the observance of the rights of displaced children;
– return children from the temporarily occupied territories to the territories controlled by the Government of Ukraine.
The activities of the agencies – members of the Coordination Headquarters and their structural subdivisions aim to ensure that, after evacuation from the war zones, Ukrainian children are safe, and that proper living conditions, education, and psychological rehabilitation are in place for them.
The Coordination Council for the Protection and Safety of Children was created on 8 August 2022 within the Office of the President of Ukraine to address the deportation of Ukraine`s children to the territory of the enemy Power and their forcible transfer within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. It is led by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have been engaging with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) in order to stop and prevent violations against children during the international armed conflict.
The Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation has been appointed as a national focal point for interaction with the CAAC mechanism in Ukraine.
The Inter-Ministerial working group on CAAC was established in spring 2023 and officially approved by the Presidential Decree in July 2023.
The National Prevention Plan to End and Prevent Grave Violations against Children in Ukraine was developed and adopted by the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on CAAC in spring 2023. It was approved in March 2024 by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The Joint Prevention Plan between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting to End and Prevent Grave Violations against Children in Ukraine was signed in August 2023.
The Order of the Ministry of Education No. 135 on the creation of safety classes in schools to ensure education on safety, including on mine risk, was approved in February 2023.
Consultation Centers of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and a free hotline, including for calls from abroad where consultations regarding the protection of children’s rights can be received and information about violations of children’s rights can be reported, were established in 2022.
Trainings of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, journalists, lawyers, military personnel, civilians, and humanitarian/volunteer organizations on international humanitarian law, humanitarian principles, and international criminal law, including issues related to children, have been conducted starting from 2014 to prevent violations of the rights and legitimate interests of children.
The Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the UN on the prevention and response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence was signed in May 2022 to establish an all-encompassing coordination mechanism for combating CRSV.
The Interagency Working Group on Combating Sexual Violence Related to the Armed Aggression against Ukraine and Providing Assistance to Survivors, was established in June 2022 with a focus on five main areas of cooperation –access to justice and accountability, comprehensive assistance to CRSV survivors, strengthening the security and defense sector to prevent CRSV, combating trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, and reparations and compensations.
The detailed implementation plan for the prevention and response to CRSV, involving both public authorities and civil and international organizations, was adopted in September 2022.
Ukraine signed the Safe School Declaration and the plan of measures for its implementation was approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 898 in August 2021 and revised in March 2024.
Since 2022, Ukraine has been engaged in efforts to persuade the enemy Power to return abducted Ukrainian children or children from the temporarily occupied territory, and some children were returned, including with the involvement of foreign mediators, such as states and international humanitarian organizations.
State-owned Data portal “Children of War” provides the latest numbers of abducted (deported or forcibly displaced) and returned children and child victims. It offers a platform through which people can report a missing child, his/her fate or whereabouts, and violations of children`s rights. As of 12 July 2024, 388 children have been returned to the Government-controlled territories of Ukraine.
Since 2022, consistent efforts have been made to establish humanitarian corridors to save lives and ensure the safe evacuation of the affected civilians, including children, from areas near the front line.
By its resolution dated 29 July 2022 No. 854, the Government of Ukraine established the Coordination Headquarters for Mandatory Evacuation of the Population Under Martial Law to facilitate coordination of the activities of central and local authorities, other state bodies, local self-government bodies, and NGOs aimed at ensuring safe evacuation of the population, including children. As a result, 3,248 children were evacuated from areas of active hostilities to safe places.
In May 2023, to comprehensively address the deportation and forcible transfer of children, the President of Ukraine launched the Bring Kids Back UA action plan, which brings together public authorities of Ukraine, other states, and international and non-governmental organizations to ensure the return of all Ukraine`s children back home.
The Bring Kids Back UA action plan consists of key blocks which provide for specific actions and measures:
– REPATRIATION. Identifying, locating, and safely repatriating all illegally deported and forcibly displaced children to reunite them with their families and guardians in a secure environment; the Task Force was established to provide the essential support and resources to facilitate this effort;
– REINTEGRATION. Building a comprehensive system of psychological support, therapy, education, and engaging leisure activities, facilitating the full reintegration and socialization of children returned;
– FAMILY UPBRINGING. Developing a robust infrastructure that fosters family-based care empowering parents and caregivers to provide the best possible care and support for children;
– ADVOCACY. Raising international awareness and rallying support from the global community to ensure the return of forcibly displaced children to their families;
– JUSTICE. Holding perpetrators accountable by documenting war crimes, utilizing national and international instruments, and collaborating with institutions such as the International Criminal Court;
– PREVENTION. Advocating for an innovative international framework to safeguard children’s rights in armed conflicts to prevent future tragedies worldwide.
Implementation of the Bring Kids Back UA action plan has been coordinated by the Coordination Council for the Protection and Safety of Children under the President of Ukraine, chaired by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
In May 2023, as part of the Brink Kids Back UA, Ukraine launched the Child Rights Protection Center to document crimes against children who have been subjected to forced displacement and deportation. Its responsibilities include further assessing the needs of the child, placing them in family-based care, if necessary, and facilitating their reintegration. Ukrainian non-profit organizations have been also engaged to meet the specific needs of those children. The Center has been overseen by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
On 2 February 2024 in Kyiv, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children (the “Coalition”) was launched. Co-chaired by the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Canada, it provides a platform for coordination of joint efforts and cooperation between Ukraine and partner nations and international organizations to address unlawful deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children, bring them home, and support their reunification with families.
To accelerate the safe return of children, the Coalition aims to ensure:
Joint Efforts Coordination: Coordinate joint efforts among Ukraine, partner states, and international organizations to address challenges related to the unlawful deportation and forced displacement of children.
Information Sharing: Ensure timely sharing of relevant data, and case details between Ukrainian authorities, partner states, and international organizations to enhance collective understanding and response mechanisms regarding the unlawful deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children.
Capabilities Alignment: Synchronize the diverse capabilities, expertise, and financial resources of Ukraine, partner states, and international organizations to support the Coalition’s work.
Advocacy and Communication: Advance efforts to secure the release of children through awareness raising, bilateral meetings, and International Forums via high-level diplomatic engagements.
