The announcement in Le Monde on March 3 of the visit to sites in southern Ukraine by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, as part of his investigation into the deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia, and of his intention to "issue arrest warrants" in the near future against the perpetrators of these crimes, constitutes a major step for those seeking justice and a hope for the return of all the children.

The evidence is there

The association "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!", represented by Emmanuel Daoud, sent a report in December to the ICC prosecutor on these crimes, which it considers to fall under the headings of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity.

Among the hundreds of thousands of children plausibly deported, several tens of thousands are unaccompanied minors (the official Ukrainian website Children of War, https://childrenofwar.gov.ua/ , has already identified 16,221 to date).

The case filed with the ICC by the association "For Ukraine..." is based on various open sources ─ official Ukrainian, American, European, and Russian statements ─ as well as on testimonies collected by journalists and NGOs. As Emmanuel Daoud, invited to speak on Wednesday, March 1, before the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, recalled: " The evidence is there, and if we truly want to fight impunity, those who are responsible for this policy and who drive it must start to be afraid ."

European governments must take a stand

The association "For Ukraine..." calls on European political leaders, and in particular the French authorities, to follow the determination of the ICC Prosecutor in fulfilling their obligation to prevent and punish acts of genocide, by solemnly and jointly denouncing the forced displacement of Ukrainian children carried out by the Russian Federation throughout its territory, by providing material and legal assistance in establishing the facts and prosecuting those responsible, and by contributing to the return of the children.

" It is high time that the French government took an official position on this issue, something it has avoided doing so far, and expressed its unambiguous condemnation of what is a process of mass deportation of Ukrainian children aimed at organizing their Russification, under the proven leadership of Vladimir Putin ," emphasized its President, Sylvie Rollet.

In this context, by inviting the Government, the European Union and its Member States to vigorously condemn these forced transfers which are part of the Russian Federation's desire to destroy Ukrainian identity, European Motion for Resolution (PPRE) No. 345, tabled on February 10, 2023 by Senator for Hauts-de-Seine André Gattolin, currently under examination by the European Affairs Committee, could significantly contribute to the mobilization for Ukrainian children.

The association "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!" calls on all political groups to send a strong signal by unanimously adopting this text, which is in keeping with our country's tradition of defending human rights.