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Olena Rozvadovska, who co-founded Charitable Foundation “Voices of Children” joined the Ukrainian delegation at the "russia's War on Children" conference in Riga, Latvia. The conference ran from 31st January to 1st February, 2024.
The key focus of the conference was on forcible deportation of Ukrainian children to the russian federation. Discussions centred on finding ways to bring these children back home safely, holding the russia accountable for their actions. It was attended by government officials from different countries, representatives of the European Parliament, international organisations, human rights defenders, journalists, researchers and lawyers.
The Ukrainian delegation was represented by the First Lady of Ukraine, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Rights of the Child and Rehabilitation, the Vice-President of PACE, the Head of the Special Committee on Ukrainian Children, the Representative of the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, high-ranking officials and representatives of public organisations.
On the first day of the conference, working groups were held on international instruments for the return of the children, investigative journalism, and on holding russia accountable.
On the second day — participants heard testimonies from children who had experienced deportation to the russia. There were also panel discussions on the legal and political aspects of child abduction, support for children after their return, accountability, and raising awareness of crimes.
Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been abducted from the russian-occupied territories of Ukraine to the russian federation and the republic of belarus. Only 388 children were able to be returned to Ukraine.
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