Author:
Mariia Kucova
The “Free the Children” Conference took place in South Africa. The Voices of Children Foundation representatives participated in the event — co-founder Azad Safarov and psychologist Oksana Pysarieva. According to results of the event, the representatives of South Africa and Ukraine made a collective statement on the Russian deportation of Ukrainian children and other children affected by conflicts around the world.
In particular, the civil society called on Russia to return all deported Ukrainian children by June 1, 2024. Read the full text of the statement below.
Civil Society Joint Statement on the Unlawful Deportation and Transfer of Ukrainian Children and Children Affected by Conflict Around the World
We, as representatives of a broad coalition of South African and Ukrainian civil society, met on the 19th and 20th March 2024 to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with a particular focus on the war’s impact on Ukrainian children and their unlawful deportation and transfer to Russia.
The plight of Ukrainian children is emblematic of the suffering and deaths of children in wars across the world, particularly in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Western Sahara. Our approach to this global crisis is rooted in a deep commitment to human rights and this alone will guide us in our efforts to free the children of Ukraine and beyond.
South Africa’s own apartheid-era experience of children being arrested and detained, separated from their families and subjected to mistreatment and torture, informs our understanding of this current crisis and provides us with the expertise and motivation to tackle this new challenge.
We have heard from experts, activists, academics and political leaders, including the former president of Ukraine, His Excellency Viktor Yushchenko. They have told us about the impact the war is having on Ukrainian children and how Russia is separating children from their families, unlawfully deporting them and deliberately trying to erase their Ukrainian identity.
So far 19,456 unlawfully deported Ukrainian children have been identified in Russia, but the total number is estimated to be much larger. Only 388 have been returned.
We have resolved to create a joint campaign to ensure the safe return of Ukraine’s children and protect children in war everywhere. This will be a South African-led initiative that coordinates African and Ukrainian actors to seek the freedom of Ukrainian children, framed within the wider context of the suffering of children in armed conflict around the world.
We call for the return of all those children unlawfully deported to Russia by the 1st June 2024, which is the International Day for the Protection of Children and the first of day of South African Youth Month.
We will advocate for a joint statement between the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. We hope this may lay the foundations for a United Nations General Assembly resolution to enshrine protections for children in conflict around the world and to allow for the establishment of a common legal mechanism for the safe return of unlawfully deported children.
We will establish a central organising committee, consisting of South African and Ukrainian organisations that are already working on this issue and that have the expertise and will to drive it forward. This committee will catalyse and coordinate a wider civil society campaign consisting of relevant actors including, children’s and youth civil society organisations, faith-based civil society organisations, women’s civil society organisations and those dealing with intersectional issues, including the LGBTQI+ community.
Recognising the immediate danger to children in wars everywhere and those unlawfully deported children being held in Russia, we call for the urgent support of the South African government, wider civil society and the international community to end this crisis now and guarantee the safety of children for generations to come.
Signed by
South African Civil Society Organisations:
- African Women Leaders Network, South Africa;
- Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria;
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation;
- Democracy Works Foundation;
- Institute for Justice and Reconciliation;
- In Transformation Initiative;
- Foundation for Human Rights;
- Lawyers for Human Rights;
- Mmabatho Foundation for Women’s Development;
- Public Interest Practice;
- Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network;
- Southern African Liaison Office;
- Ukrainian Association of South Africa.
Ukrainian Civil Society Organisations:
- Regional Center for Human Rights;
- Voices of Children.
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