The state portal for the search for children has been launched in Ukraine
The information platform “Children of War” childrenofwar.gov.ua will help to quickly collect information about children who suffered during the war in order to save them as soon as possible. In addition to the dissemination of reliable statistical and subsequently analytical data, the resource will become a place of single contact for parents, witnesses of crimes against children and representatives of law enforcement agencies.
Created by personal order of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the portal “Children of War” allows you to promptly submit appeals to law enforcement agencies: the National Police of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, as well as to the National Information Bureau. The site can be used by both parents of a lost, displaced or deported child, as well as anyone who has any information about missing children, violations of their rights and crimes committed against them.
“Those shootings, those bombings and those terrible crimes committed by the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine, including against children, often restrain absolutely all the thoughts of parents, relatives, relatives about what to do next if such a situation happened. Actually, that is why it is very important to take the right first steps, because it will depend on them how quickly the child is found. And in order for these right steps to be taken quickly, we have developed a portal - the only information state platform for the search for children “Children of War”, - explains Daria Gerasimchuk, Adviser to the President of Ukraine Commissioner for Child Rights and Child Rehabilitation, coordinator of the information platform “Children of War”.
At the same time, according to the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Captain of Police Kateryna Pavlichenko, the resource will help not only parents, but also law enforcement officers themselves, because it will serve as an important tool for gathering information, when not days but hours are often important for success in rescue.
“All appeals from the portal will be registered, checked, transferred to the competent units of the territorial police bodies for certain procedural actions, criminal proceedings will be opened and submitted to the EHRD (ed. - Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations), investigative and operational actions will be taken in order to establish the location of the child”, - emphasizes the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
In addition, the platform “Children of War” was created to provide Ukrainian citizens with up-to-date and complete information about children who suffered as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine. Quantities are updated daily.
Thus, as of August 1, 2022, consolidated data of law enforcement agencies (National Police, Prosecutor General's Office), as well as the National Information Bureau indicate that 693 children were injured, 358 — died. In addition, 203 children went missing and at least 5,754 were illegally deported to Russia. At the same time, there are also positive indicators: law enforcement officers found 4039 children and another 47 - returned from illegal deportation.
Regarding the latter, Ukraine is currently establishing an effective scheme for returning children and reuniting them with their families through international organizations that have a mandate for search work in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in the territory of the Russian Federation. All stories are classified until the full return of the children
“We try not to disclose the details (ed. — of this process). The only thing you need to know is that each case is individual... And at least 5-6 departments worked on the return of each of the 47 children,” said Aksana Filipishyna, representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
She also said that the Office of the Ombudsman decided to join the support of the state portal for the search for children “Children of War” and offered its consulting services to citizens who will not be able to fully satisfy or clarify their request on the site. The Consultation Center of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights will work from Monday, August 8. Contact for help at: m. Kyiv, str. Institute, 21/8, or by phone 0-800-50-17-20.
The authorities and human rights activists encourage citizens of Ukraine and other states, in particular Russia, through the portal “Children of War” (childrenofwar.gov.ua) to submit any information about the location of deported (or lost) children, the facts of illegal change of citizenship and illegal adoption.
For reference: Information and analytical support of the portal is provided by the Government of Canada project “Support of Government Reforms in Ukraine” (SurGE), carried out by Alinea International Ltd.
