Mr Chair, I am delivering this statement on behalf of 41 participating States that invoked the OSCE Moscow Mechanism in relation to Russia’s indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children on 14 May 2026. Being gravely concerned regarding reports of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) following Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, part...
Mr Chair, I am delivering this statement on behalf of 41 participating States that invoked the OSCE Moscow Mechanism in relation to Russia’s indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children on 14 May 2026. Being gravely concerned regarding reports of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) following Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, particularly with regard to credible and mounting reports that the Russian Federation is systematically subjecting Ukrainian children – especially those staying in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and those forcibly transferred to such territories or unlawfully deported to Russia – to militarisation, indoctrination, coercion, and other repressive practices, our countries invoked the Moscow Mechanism on 14 May 2026. Credible reporting also suggested that these practices are aimed at, inter alia, erasing Ukrainian identity and compelling loyalty to the occupying power. We requested that ODIHR inquire of Ukraine whether it would invite a mission of experts to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding possible: contraventions of relevant OSCE commitments; violations and abuses of human rights, and violations of IHL and IHRL, related to the militarization and indoctrination of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation, including in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and including in the context of forcible transfer and/or unlawful deportation. We also requested that the mission of experts would: collect, consolidate, and analyse information on these practices, legislation and school curricula, assess whether this amounted to a coordinated and systematic policy aimed at, inter alia, erasing children’s Ukrainian identity as well as the impact on children’s rights; offer recommendations on urgent protective measures, prevention and accountability pathways; and requested ODIHR to; provide any relevant information or documentation derived from any new expert mission to other appropriate accountability mechanisms, as well as national, regional, or international courts or tribunals that have, or may in future have, jurisdiction. We are very grateful to the Moscow Mechanism experts for producing such a thorough and professional report. While we are still reviewing the report in detail, it is clear that the mission’s findings confirmed our cause for grave concerns. The report states that ‘forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children remain among the gravest violations documented,’ and that ‘the Russian Federation has systematically obstructed family reunification while failing to establish any mechanism for restoration of identity.’ Further, the report states that Russia ‘intertwines education law, youth policy, family law, citizenship regulations, and legislation on terrorism and extremism to produce a coordinated mechanism of indoctrination and militarisation, as well as of suppression of any dissent’. The experts conclude that this approach to Ukrainian children ‘constitutes a system of purposeful design’. The mission states that ‘indoctrination operates across every level of the school system in the occupied territories’, that ‘militarization extends beyond the classroom through State-sponsored military-patriotic youth organizations and re-education camps,’ and that Russia conscripts Ukrainians ‘in direct violation of the prohibition on compelling protected persons to serve in the armed or auxiliary forces of the occupying State’. Worryingly, the experts concluded that this ‘system is enforced through pervasive coercion’, and that ‘pressure on parents, teachers, and children is both structural and individualized’. The report states that ‘parents who refuse to enrol their children in Russian schools are threatened with deprivation of parental rights’, that ‘teachers who decline to implement the Russian curriculum face dismissal, harassment, house searches, and detention’ and that ‘children are forbidden to speak Ukrainian in schools or public spaces’. Finally, the mission states that ‘coercion to acquire Russian citizenship is exercised by denying access to care and social services, to education, to daily matters such as banking services, and restricting freedom of movement to those without Russian documents.’ Mr Chair, OSCE participating States have committed to respect human rights and the rule of law, and to respect (IHL) and (IHRL) in the context of armed conflicts. Moreover, OSCE participating States have committed themselves to respecting the rights of the child, and to promote children’s rights and interests in conflict and post-conflict situations. The report clearly concludes that Ukrainian children have suffered the consequences of serious violations of IHL and IHRL, including violations of ‘the rights to identity, family, education, information, freedom of thought and conscience, health, and right to liberty and security of person’. As the report states, the ‘forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children and the practices of systemic indoctrination and militarisation may amount to crimes against humanity.’ The mission concludes that ‘the best interests of the child were disregarded in every dimension of Russia’s policy’. To the Russian Federation, first and foremost we call on you to stop your war of aggression against Ukraine and withdraw from Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory. We wish to highlight the following recommendations from the report, namely to ‘halt all practices of indoctrination and militarization, to cease all coercion against children, parents, and teachers, to immediately facilitate the return of all deported children, and to establish a mechanism for restoration of identity.’ Furthermore, ‘humanitarian corridors should urgently be established to ensure restoration and safeguarding of meaningful family contact. The safe reunification of all separated Ukrainian children with their parents, relatives, and true legal guardians should be ensured, and these children be allowed to develop their own identities without undue interference. Under no circumstances should children be part of any exchanges of prisoners of war.’ We, the invoking states, take note of the mission’s recommendations to other states and the international community and encourage all other participating States to do the same. Mr Chair, this report is clear. The best interests of Ukrainian children, including in the temporarily occupied territories, require that all the recommendations are implemented without any further delay.
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