Rada Europy wobec nielegalnych deportacji ukraińskich dzieci w związku z agresją Rosji na Ukrainę

Abstract

COUNCIL OF EUROPE FACING ILLEGAL DEPORTATIONS OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN IN CONNECTION WITH RUSSIA’S AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE

This paper deals with the Council of Europe’s response to the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine in the face of the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian conflict. The subject of analysis is the legal acts and actions that the Council of Europe is taking to combat the forced resettlement of children by Russia. The article emphasizes that the Council of Europe’s commitment to the described problem is evident from 2022 and especially after 2023. Despite awareness of the occurrence of forced resettlement of children from Ukraine to Russia as early as 2014, the Council of Europe did not get involved in combating it before 2022. The article posits that the Council of Europe’s approach to this problem was reactive and delayed. After analyzing the aforementioned involvement of the Council of Europe and answering the question of how the Council of Europe combats and counteracts the illegal resettlement of Ukrainian children by Russia, the author identified the challenges faced by the Council of Europe in its activities and formulated recommendations for the organization in this regard and prospects for further involvement of the Council in this area. Despite Russia’s exclusion from the Council of Europe, the organization has some legal and political resources that can effectively support international efforts to respond to the illegal displacement of children and the protection of children’s rights and the return of deported children to Ukraine, although the effectiveness of these efforts is limited by a lack of access to Russian-controlled territories and challenges in enforcing European Court of Human Rights rulings.