UN Commission concludes that deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities, as well as enforced disappearances, amount to crimes against humanity

Thousands of children have been deported to the Russian Federation or transferred to occupied areas in Ukraine by Russian authorities, according to the Commission. It has so far verified the deportation or transfer of over 1,200 children from five regions in Ukraine.

Shortly before the full-scale invasion, the Russian authorities undertook large-scale relocations, which they justified as “evacuations” due to the risks of the armed conflict. But the Commission found that four years later, 80 per cent of the children from the documented cases have not been returned. This contravenes international humanitarian law, under which evacuations can only be temporary for compelling reasons of health, medical treatment or safety.

“The deportation and forcible transfer of children is a grave violation of international law,” said Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission. “Children must never be separated from their families coercively.”

Russian authorities have coordinated legislative, administrative, and practical measures to facilitate deportations, transfers and subsequent placement of children in families and institutions in the Russian Federation. Some of these measures were adopted in the days preceding the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion.

The evidence collected demonstrates that authorities acted pursuant to a policy conceived and executed at the highest level of the Russian Federation’s leadership. The involvement of President Vladimir Putin, and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, has been visible from the outset. This policy has been implemented by authorities and institutions across various branches of power at central and regional levels in the Russian Federation, as well as in the occupied territories in Ukraine.

Russian authorities have systematically failed to disclose the whereabouts of the children to parents or legal guardians and have kept children in a coercive environment making their return to families almost impossible. 

Instead of establishing a system facilitating the return of children, Russian authorities placed them under long-term arrangements with families or institutions in 21 regions of the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories. They systematically granted Russian citizenship to the children whom they deported or transferred and their profiles were also placed on adoption databases.

Families and children had to take it upon themselves to locate one another. The returns that could be organized occurred after obstacles, delays, and security risks. Four years on, most of the families are still looking for their children, resulting in lengthy separations, distress and suffering. This amounts to the war crime of unjustifiable delay in the repatriation of civilians. 

The Commission further investigated the conduct of trials by courts in the Russian Federation and in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine. During the trials, Russian authorities systematically presented evidence that was fabricated by use of torture. Civilians and prisoners of war were deprived of fundamental fair trial guarantees, as the guilt of the accused was presumed from the outset demonstrating the lack of independence and impartiality of the courts. The Commission found that the Russian authorities committed grave breaches of international humanitarian law, which constitutes war crimes.

The Commission has continued to document cases of sexual violence committed by Russian armed forces. In one case, a girl as young as 13 years was the victim of rape. In another, a woman had a child as a result of rape.

The Commission also investigated the circumstances of nationals from 17 countries recruited to fight with Russian armed forces in Ukraine. It found that many had been deceived and lured from abroad through promises of civilian employment or other lucrative arrangements. They were coerced to sign contracts written in Russian, which they did not understand, and sent to the frontline without necessary training. 

The Commission interviewed 85 soldiers who had served in the Russian armed forces in connection with the fighting in Ukraine and subsequently deserted. Most testified about violent practices arbitrarily ordered or tolerated by commanders, including executions, beatings, and detaining soldiers in pits or tying them to trees. Their accounts demonstrate a total disregard for human life and dignity. 

As for Ukraine, the Commission recalled the prevailing legal uncertainty surrounding the overbroad definition of “collaborative activities” in Ukrainian criminal legislation. It highlighted that the crime’s scope could encompass actions that do not threaten national security. Analysing rulings of the Supreme Court of Ukraine on this issue, the Commission found that when considering lawful activities under international humanitarian law, the Supreme Court failed to take into account that body of law, which obliges the Occupying Power to ensure that essential services in territories under their control continue to be provided to the civilian population.   

Finally, the Commission documented violations reported during mobilisation for the Ukrainian armed forces. These include irregular administrative detention, lack of access to a lawyer, and hurried examinations by military medical commissions that ignore possible underlying medical issues. Instances of violence have been recorded against conscientious objectors, who were taken by force to recruitment centres and military bases, regardless of expressed readiness to carry out alternative civil service.    

Background: The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to, among other things, investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The Commission comprises Erik Møse (Chair), Pablo de Greiff and Vrinda Grover.

The Commissioners were appointed by the President of the UN Human Rights Council; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights Office provides support to the Commission of Inquiry, the commissioners serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including the UN. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the mandated commissioners.

For media requests and queries, please contact: Saule Mukhametrakhimova, Media Adviser, Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, saule.mukhametrakhimova@un.org, or (+43-1) 26060-83450 or (+43-676) 3493464; or Todd Pitman, Media Adviser for the UN Human Rights Council’s Investigative Bodies: todd.pitman@un.org / +41766911761; or Pascal Sim, Human Rights Council Media Officer: simp@un.org.