- UN refugee agency has accused Moscow.
- Nearly three million Ukrainian refugees have been registered in Russia.
- It is unknown how many of these people are children.
The head of the UN refugee agency has accused Moscow of violating “fundamental” child protection principles by issuing Russian passports to unaccompanied child refugees.
Filippo Grandi added that Russia had then placed these children for adoption by Russian families.
He stated that the UNHCR would try to gain access to those affected and find solutions in their best interests.
Mr. Grandi, on the other hand, admitted that he had no idea how many children were affected.
“In the situation of war, you cannot determine if children have families or guardianship. And therefore, until that is clarified, you cannot give them another nationality or have them adopted by another family,” Mr. Grandi said.
According to the most recent UNHCR figures, nearly three million Ukrainian refugees have been registered in Russia, more than in any other European country. It is unknown how many of these people are children.
Earlier this month, a Ukrainian presidential adviser claimed that nearly 14,000 children had been “deported” to Russia from occupied parts of Ukraine, accusing Russia of kidnapping them. The allegations have been denied by the Kremlin.
Mr. Grandi stated that the UNHCR seeks access to Russia “all the time,” but that this has been “rare, sporadic, and not unfettered” thus far.
UN’s top human rights official expressed concern
His remarks come after the UN’s top human rights official expressed concern in July that Ukrainian children were being “forcefully deported” to Russia from orphanages in the eastern Donbas region. There was also concern that Moscow was “changing existing legislation” to expedite the process.
Michelle Bachelet stated at the time that she was unable to confirm the allegations or the number of children who may have been affected.
Then in September, the assistant UN secretary-general for human rights said there were “credible allegations” of “forced transfers of unaccompanied children to Russian occupied territory, or to the Russian Federation itself”.
Mr. Grandi was speaking to local residents at the end of a six-day visit to Ukraine, telling them that “the whole world admires you because you are strong people.”
He predicted that more refugees would return to Ukraine this summer, as they did last year, but warned that more fighting would lead to more displacement, particularly internally.
Mr. Grandi also painted a bleak global picture when it came to refugees, predicting that the current figure of around 103 million would “almost inevitably” rise in the coming years.
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