MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on human rights violations in the context of forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to and forced adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia

13.9.2022 - (2022/2825(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Petras Auštrevičius, Malik Azmani, Nicola Beer, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Dita Charanzová, Olivier Chastel, Klemen Grošelj, Bernard Guetta, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, Urmas Paet, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Michal Šimečka, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Ramona Strugariu, Dragoş Tudorache, Hilde Vautmans, Javier Nart
on behalf of the Renew Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0388/2022

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0399/2022

European Parliament resolution on human rights violations in the context of forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to and forced adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia

(2022/2825(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia and Ukraine,

 

–  having regard to the Statement by the High Representative on the situation in Mariupol of 22 April 2022,

 

–  having regarding to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights,

 

–  having regard to the two reports on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Committed in Ukraine of the OSCE missions of experts established under the Moscow Mechanism,

 

–  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

1. Whereas estimates from a variety of sources, including the governments of Ukraine and of Russia, indicate that Russian authorities have deported to Russia between 900,000 and 2 million Ukrainian citizens, including more than 300,000 children; whereas thousands of Ukrainians were deported very far from Ukraine, in isolated regions in Russia’s Far East;
2. Whereas Russian authorities have subjected thousands of Ukrainian citizens to “filtration”, a large-scale, compulsory, punitive, and abusive security screening;
3. Whereas during filtration Russian authorities are using and have subjected Ukrainians to body searches, sometimes involving forced nudity, frequent threats, detailed interrogations about the personal background, family ties, political views and allegiances, and incidents of torture, while also collecting their biometric and personal data and using technologies such as facial recognition and phone tracking; Whereas these violations of the right to privacy could put those subject to filtration at risk of being targeted or suffering other abuses for years to come;
4. Whereas during this process, Russian authorities often confiscate Ukrainian passports and coerce Ukrainians into signing agreements to stay in Russia, hindering their ability to return home, in an apparent effort to change the demographic makeup of Ukraine;
5. Whereas those who do not pass the filtration process, including Ukrainians considered threatening to Russian control due to perceived pro-Ukrainian leanings, potential affiliation with the Ukrainian army, media, government, and civil society groups, were detained and transferred to Russian detention centres and penal colonies, where many are reportedly tortured, while there are reports that some might have been summarily executed;
6. Whereas the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented credible reports of children separated from their families when the accompanying adult did not pass the filtration process;
7. Whereas unaccompanied children are at risk of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour and illegal adoption, and girls are at risk of gender-based violence; 
8. Whereas the Russian presidential decrees of 25 May and 30 May simplified the process for granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainian citizens, including children without parental care, in regions under Russian military control; whereas the measures taken by Russia do not include steps for family reunification, with the children being eligible for adoption by Russian families, facilitating the process of enforced assimilation of Ukrainian children;
9. Whereas without formal procedures in place, family reunification largely falls on individuals with support from local volunteers, NGOs, back-channel negotiations and travels of guardians at great personal risk and cost to the location of deported children;
10. Whereas estimates indicate that thousands of children have been subject to filtration, some separated from their families or others taken from orphanages before being put up for adoption in Russia;
11. Whereas older people are also at risk of getting trapped in Russian-controlled areas or in Russia, as they tend to lack IT skills and access to information, no longer have access to their Ukrainian pensions, and are sometimes not able to travel independently due to disabilities;
12. Whereas there are credible reports that the Russian presidential administration is directly managing the filtration program and the forced relocation of Ukrainians, including children,  in an apparent effort to erase the Ukrainian identity and nation and annex areas of Ukraine to Russia;
13. Whereas the unlawful transfer and deportation of civilians is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Protocol I, which prohibit individual or mass forcible transfers of civilians from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power or any other country, regardless of motive, and is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
14. Whereas Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits occupying power from changing children’s personal status, including their nationality;
15. Whereas Russia’s actions are pre-meditated and draw immediate historical comparisons to the deportations of Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and to Russian filtration operations in Chechnya and other areas, and amount to genocidal intentions.

 

1. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia´s forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians  and forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russia;

 

2. Is gravely concerned by the mistreatment to which Ukrainian civilians, including children, are subject in the Russian-run filtration centres;

 

3. Calls on the Russian Federation to fully abide with its obligations under international law and to immediately halt its systematic filtration operations, forced deportations of Ukrainians and forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russia;

 

4. Calls on the Russian authorities to stop pressuring Ukrainian citizens to go to Russia, to release those detained, to allow Ukrainians forcibly removed or coerced into leaving their country the ability to promptly and safely return home and to ensure in areas they occupy that civilians can safely leave to Ukrainian-controlled territory if they choose;

 

5. Calls on the Russian authorities to abide by Russia’s international obligations on the rights of the child, to ensure the safety and well-being of Ukrainian children in Russia and in Russian-controlled territories, and to protect them from the dangers arising from the war and its consequences; 

 

6. Calls for the establishment of a formal system, facilitated by independent neutral parties, to facilitate the reunification of Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported with their guardians and carers, and to facilitate the return of vulnerable persons, such as people with disabilities and elderly people;

 

7. Calls on the Russian Federation to allow UN agencies, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and other international organisations, NGOs and independent observers unimpeded access to its filtration facilities, to all individuals living in Russian-controlled areas or detained in relation to the ongoing war, including to forced relocation areas and places of internment of prisoners of war and detainees in Russia and Russian-controlled areas;

 

8. Calls on the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the OHCHR and the ICRC to request access for their staff to the temporary placement centres throughout Russia, help Ukrainian citizens who wish to leave Russia and document the forced transfers;

 

9. Calls on the EU Member States to provide support via their embassies in Russia in the issuance of temporary travel documents enabling Ukrainian citizens to leave Russia if they wish to;

 

10. Strongly condemns the Russian Presidential decrees of 25 May and 30 May, simplifying the process for granting Russian citizenship and passports to Ukrainian citizens; calls on the EU member states and institutions not to recognise these passports;

 

11. Calls on the EU Member States to sanctions all entities and individuals involved in the deportation of Ukrainian civilians and the forced adoption of Ukrainian children;

 

12. Calls on the EU and its Member States to support Ukrainian and international authorities’ efforts to collect, document, and preserve evidence of human rights violations committed in the context of Russian war against Ukraine and to bring to justice those responsible;

 

13.  Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to take all necessary action in international institutions and at the ICC or other appropriate international tribunals or courts, including under the principle of universal jurisdiction, to support the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations in the context of forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians and forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russia;

 

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the OHCHR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the ICRC, the Council of Europe,  OSCE, the International Criminal Court, and to the presidents, government and the parliaments of Russia and of Ukraine.