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"Russia's abduction of children is a combination of genocide and russification policies aimed at erasing Ukraine's national identity and culture", said Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), at the opening of the event Uprooted Children: How the Russian Federation Deports Ukrainian Children and Erases their National Identity, organised jointly by the Latvian and Ukrainian delegations in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 10 October.

In his opening address, Tiny Kox, President of the Assembly, stressed that war goes hand in hand with crimes, but the most heinous of these is violence against women and children. Russia's actions are a flagrant violation of human rights, and the perpetrators of these crimes must be held accountable. The crime of Russian aggression against the Ukrainian people and the forced deportation of children are on the Assembly's agenda. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights.

Participants had the opportunity to hear the story of Yevhen Mezhevyi, a father currently living in Latvia, who managed to rescue his children from the so-called Russian care and find a safe haven in Latvia, as well as video testimonies of Ukrainian children who had returned home after deportation.

The President of the Assembly thanked everyone involved in the reunification of Ukrainian families, including that of Matvii, Oleksandra, and Sviatoslava, currently living in Latvia, with their father Yevhen.

"There are still many Ukrainian children and families who need help. So far, the international community has not done enough. Despite the very difficult and time-consuming process, international organisations must not give up until every Ukrainian child has returned home and the perpetrators have been brought to justice. Russia has abducted 20 000 children and only two per cent of them have been returned", stressed Kalniņa-Lukaševica.

The event, organised by the Latvian and Ukrainian delegations, also included a panel discussion on the current situation in the fight for returning the Ukrainian children who have been illegally taken to Russia back to their families or legal guardians. During the discussion, participants highlighted Russia's violations of international criminal, humanitarian, and human rights laws in kidnapping and abducting children from Ukraine.

Elīna Šteinerte, an expert from the Moscow Mechanism of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, presented the main conclusions and recommendations of the Moscow Mechanism mission, including the need to immediately end the forced deportations of children, to stop the adoption procedure of deported children and the imposition of Russian citizenship on them, and to actively promote and support family reunification.

Participants in the Strasbourg session can also attend a special exhibition to see the stories and drawings of Ukrainian children who have returned home after being deported by the Russian Federation.

The Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and her delegation are in Strasbourg, France, until 12 October for the Assembly's autumn session. The PACE session brings together parliamentarians from 46 Member States, and Latvia’s representatives are Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Head of the Delegation; Deputy Head Edmunds Cepurītis, permanent representative Andris Bērziņš, and substitute representatives Ināra Mūrniece, Ričards Šlesers, and Aiva Vīksna.

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Saeima Press Service