Ukraine: Human Rights Watch Concerned About Consequences of War on Orphans
Hospital staff members take care of orphaned children in a maternity hospital in Kherson, November 22, 2022. © Bernat Armangue / AP
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Ukrainian children forcibly sent to Russia, orphans traumatized by the war: in a report published on Monday March 13, the NGO Human Rights Watch is concerned about the consequences of the war for the tens of thousands of children living in Ukrainian institutions, whether they are orphans or foster children.
She calls on Kiev to "
urgently
" reform its system of care for these children.
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“
We must provide a family home, not rebuild orphanages
”: this is the title of
this 55-page report
which details the devastating consequences of the Russian invasion for these children.
At least 16,200 of them were
deported to Russia
, according to the National Information Office in Ukraine.
These acts are the subject of a priority investigation by the prosecutor's office of
the International Criminal Court
(ICC), which
cannot, however, judge Russia
.
Human Rights Watch also draws attention to the broader problem of fostering orphans in Ukraine.
Officially, the country had more than 105,000 children in institutions, the figure "
the highest in Europe after Russia
", notes the NGO.
With the war, many children were massively evacuated, inside Ukraine, but also abroad.
In the chaos, some children were not registered, siblings were separated.
The war in Ukraine has had traumatic and devastating consequences for children placed in institutions, including forced transfers to Russia and separation from their families.
New report👇 https://t.co/45Fqy4JYWX pic.twitter.com/zkPBj7ioHM
— HRW in French (@hrw_fr) March 13, 2023
Need for reforms
Successive Ukrainian governments had pledged since 2005 to place orphans in families or family-like structures, but the reforms failed and the number of institutions actually increased.
“
The return of children illegally abducted by Russian forces should be an international priority
,” the report notes, while calling on Ukraine and its allies to ensure “
that all Ukrainian children enjoy their rights to live in families , and not in institutions
”.
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To read also
:
Ukraine: torture rooms for children were discovered in the Kherson region
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