Russia convenes UN meeting on Ukrainian children

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Russia plans to hold an informal meeting at the United Nations Security Council in early April to discuss what it calls “the true situation” of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, a topic that has gained notoriety since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes related to his plagiarism.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told a news conference on Monday that Russia had planned the council meeting long before Friday’s announcement by the ICC. Russia holds the rotating presidency of the council for the month of April.

The court noted that he had sought Putin’s arrest because “he is presumably responsible for the war crime of wrongful deportation (of children) and illegal transfer (of children) from occupied areas of Ukraine. to the Russian Federation.

The announcement of the orders against Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the President of the Russian Federation, was described by Ukraine as a first step towards holding Russia accountable for their crimes after their February 24, 2022 crime. The news was dismissed by Moscow, which is not among the 123 countries on the ground, calling the decision “legally invalid” and “outrageous”.

The announcement came after the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine released a report on Thursday saying there was evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The commission said parents and children faced many obstacles in establishing contact, with the burden falling mainly on minors, while younger children were unlikely to contact their parents. The report concluded that the forced deportations “violate international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime”.

The Ukrainian government says 16,221 children have been taken to Russia since the start of the war.

At a conference of justice ministers from more than 30 countries in London on Monday, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told Russia: “Give the children back, bring the children home,” according to Courthouse News Service.

Nebenzia said the issue of the children is “totally disproportionate” and assured that at the Security Council meeting to be held around April 6, Moscow wants to explain that they were taken to Russia “simply because it wanted to avoid the dangers that could bring them military activities.

When asked if Russia plans to return the children, Nebenzia replied: “When the conditions are safe, of course. Why not?”