Ukraine provides Qatar with list of 561 children taken to Russia - Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights
Photo: Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (facebook.com/dmytro.lubinets)
Ukraine has passed to Qatar a list with the names of 561 children who were illegally taken to Russia. It is already being processed by the Russian side, stated the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
“We passed to Qatar a list with the names of 561 Ukrainian children, which has already been received by the Russian side!” Lubinets wrote.
According to him, in two days there are several results of the negotiations in Qatar.
As for the children
- A group of Ukrainian children is expected to return home. Details are not yet disclosed.
- A list of 561 abducted Ukrainian children was handed over to Qatar. It is already being processed by the Russian side.
- They discussed the return of so-called “status” children: orphans and children deprived of parental care.
“We emphasized that legally there is no difference between biological parents and official adoptive parents or guardians. Therefore, Russia is obliged to return the children, regardless of their status. Qatar has also agreed to accept the first list of orphans and children deprived of parental care and to work on the issue of their return to Ukraine. I would like to note that according to our information, there may be over 3600 such children,” Lubinets added.
As for civilians
Qatar agreed to participate in negotiations with Russia on the return of civilians illegally detained by Russia.
“The issue of returning home civilians illegally detained by the Russian Federation is constantly in the focus of our work with the international community,” the Ombudsman said.
Lubinets also once again denied Russian propaganda about negotiations for the return of children.
“We are conducting negotiations through Qatar's mediation, there have been no direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia,” he emphasized.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been deporting Ukrainian children to Crimea, Belarus, or remote areas of the Russian Federation on a regular basis.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
Recently, at the second plenary session of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children abducted and illegally deported by Russia, Ukraine presented concrete projects to work on their return and reintegration.
Yesterday, The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets denied the information that Russia and Ukraine had held talks on children with the mediation of Qatar, as reported by Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
According to Belova, the talks took place in Doha, and an agreement was reached that 29 children would move to Ukraine and 19 to Russia.
Lubinets denied negotiations with Russia and added that Ukraine is returning children from deportation with the assistance of partners, including Qatar.
