Some 45 countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday invoked the Moscow Mechanism in response to the forcible transfer and deportation of minors from Russian-occupied areas to Russian territory.
Specifically, the countries, including the United States, Turkey, Canada and European Union countries such as Germany, France and Spain, have sent an information letter with this request to the director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE, Matteo Mecacci.
In 2022 the OSCE countries already invoked one of the paragraphs of the Moscow Mechanism to »address the human rights and humanitarian impacts of the Russian Federation’s invasion and acts of war» in Ukraine.
Following this, they received two reports from the independent expert missions of April 12 and July 11, 2022, which found that various rights violations by Moscow in Ukraine could constitute »crimes against humanity».
For all these reasons, the 45 OSCE countries have again highlighted the »continuing impacts of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, in particular on the civilian population, including children,» following »numerous credible allegations of forcible transfer» of minors.
We are concerned that forcible transfer and/or deportation may also expose them to numerous human rights violations and abuses, in particular those related to citizenship, separation from parents or guardians, adoption, and other violations or abuses leading to forced assimilation,» they said in a joint statement.
The OSCE countries have also expressed concern about so-called «summer camps», where «children have allegedly been prevented from contacting or returning to their parents or guardians».
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in mid-March for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the presumption of war crime for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from areas captured during the Ukrainian war to Russian territory.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
