The Forcible Transfer and Deportation of Ukrainian Children by Russia: Search for Solutions

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July 12, 2023

The Forcible Transfer and Deportation of Ukrainian Children by Russia: Search for Solutions

Thousands of children affected by the war in Ukraine have been separated from their families, communities, and country and forcibly transferred to Russian-occupied territories or deported to Russia. Some have been placed in Russian foster and adoptive families and given Russian nationality. Other reports indicate that children from Ukraine are being transferred to camps and facilities in Russia and Russia-occupied territories, where Russian officials have said they are integrated and receive patriotic education. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has underlined that international humanitarian law prohibits forced transfers and deportation of protected persons, which may constitute war crimes.

During this webinar, participants examined the current situation, provided historical context, and discussed the response. Ukrainian organizations engaged in the frontline response shared their perspectives, and participants considered how the international community can support family tracing and reunification.

This event was sponsored by Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues in coordination with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, Razom for Ukraine, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, and Where Are Our People?.

Resources

View articles, statements, and other resources for this event.

Participants

Vladyslav Havrylov

Vladyslav Havrylov is a research fellow with the Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children's Issues. A historian and religious scholar based in Kyiv, his research interests include the history of mass deportations in the Soviet era and the policy of the Catholic Church during World War II. In 2022, Havrylov participated in a virtual research scholar program at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He is a researcher with Where Are Our People?

Daria Herasymchuk

Daria Herasymchuk is the president’s commissioner for children’s rights and rehabilitation in the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Herasymchuk has helped to lead the National Coordinating Board for the Protection of Children’s Rights under Martial Law. Since August 2022, she has served as the secretary of the Coordination Council for the Protection and Safety of Children created by Zelensky.

Gillian Huebner

Gillian Huebner (moderator) is the executive director of the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues at Georgetown University. A global child rights and protection specialist, Huebner has supported programs and systems to enhance community-based and nationally-owned approaches to building young people’s resilience and supporting children at risk through her work with the UN, the U.S. government, private foundations, multiple non-governmental organizations, and as an independent consultant.

Mykola Kuleba

Mykola Kuleba is a Ukrainian public and political figure, founder and CEO of Save Ukraine, and president of Children's Rescue Service. Kuleba previously served as the commissioner for children’s rights and head of children’s services in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Anastasiia Marushevska

Anastasiia Marushevska is the founder of Where Are Our People? and chief editor at Ukraїner International. Marushevska is a communications strategist, writer, and speaker with a focus on promoting Ukrainian context globally.

Nadia McConnell

Nadia McConnell is the co-founder and president of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation. Born in Austria to two Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Red Army, McConnell immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1950. She has previously served as director of congressional relations at the Federal Emergency Management Administration and as deputy assistant administrator of NASA for congressional affairs in the Reagan administration.

Katya Pavlevych

Katya Pavlevych (moderator) is an advocate working on the topic of the illegal deportation of Ukrainians by Russia. Since October 2022, Katya has supported the Where Are Our People? initiative and is a policy advisor on child deportation issues with Razom for Ukraine. Pavlevych holds a master’s degree from the Institute of International Relations at Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University.

Kateryna Rashevska

Kateryna Rashevska is a legal expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights and a Ph.D. fellow at Taras Shevchenko National University. She authored the submission of the Regional Center for Human Rights and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention to the International Criminal Court on crimes committed against Ukrainian children by Maria Lvova-Belova and Vladimir Putin. She has also contributed to the draft UN General Assembly resolution on the repatriation of illegally deported children.

Erin Farrell Rosenberg

Erin Farrell Rosenberg is a visiting scholar with the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is also an attorney specializing in international criminal law, reparations, and genocide prevention. Rosenberg has worked with the International Criminal Tribunal and International Criminal Court and served as a senior advisor at the Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

David Schlaefer

David Schlaefer is the principal director for Ukraine in the U.S. State Department’s Office for Global Criminal Justice, focused on war crimes accountability. He was the senior assistance coordinator at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and will return to Ukraine this fall. A member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has served as the U.S. State Department’s deputy special envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS and deputy coordinator for counterterrorism.

Steven Schrage

Steven Schrage is the executive director of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. He previously served as co-chair of the G8’s Crime and Terrorism Group and U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state. He also served in the executive branch as a senior advisor in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Schrage has U.S. congressional experience as a Senate chief of staff, international trade counsel for the Ways and Means Committee, and on the policy team of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Bogdana Yakovenko

Bogdana Yakovenko is an executive board member with Helping to Leave, where she co-leads the department of aid for the deported. Yakovenko and her team have helped to develop a secure evacuation system, facilitating the safe relocation of Ukrainians from the Russian Federation to other countries. She is a passionate advocate for the rights of deported Ukrainians, particularly children.

Children Living Outside of Family Care