The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday demanded that Russia allow international organizations to visit children and other civilians “who have been forcibly deported” in Ukraine to territories controlled by Moscow.
The resolution adopted on Tuesday calls on Moscow to “stop the illegal forcible transfer and deportation of civilians and other protected persons within Ukraine or to the Russian Federation (…), in particular children, including those in institutions, those who are not accompanied and those who are separated”.
China votes against
The UN Human Rights Council has also decided to appoint a Bulgarian human rights specialist, Mariana Katzarova, to monitor the situation inside Russia.
The text was adopted by 28 votes in favour, 17 abstentions and two against (China and Eritrea). According to kyiv, 16,221 children were deported to Russia as of the end of February, figures the UN Commission could not verify.
This issue was at the center of the debates for more than five weeks of the Council session, with the Ukrainian mission and its allies having multiplied statements on the matter.
In addition, the resolution calls on Russia to grant representatives and staff of international humanitarian aid and human rights organizations “unimpeded, immediate, sustained and secure access, to provide reliable and comprehensive information on the number and whereabouts of these civilians, and to ensure that they are treated with dignity and their return is safe.
The resolution also calls on Russia to guarantee “unimpeded, immediate and sustained” access to all prisoners of war and other “illegally detained” persons.
Source: BFM TV
