UMPD draws the attention of officials to the violation of the rights of children affected by the conflict in Ukraine!

Ukrainian Child Rights Network draws attention to violations of the rights of children affected by the military conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On April 5, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at its meeting approved the Resolution “On approval of the Procedure for granting the status of a child affected by hostilities and armed conflict”, which violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Therefore, the Ukrainian Child Rights Network appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and the Chairman of the Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Artur Palatny to violate the rights of children affected by the military conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Although the Resolution was approved by the Government on April 5, its full text has not yet been published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The decree stipulates that one of the obligatory conditions for granting the status of a child victim of hostilities and armed conflicts is the submission, along with other documents, of a criminal offense against the child and an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.

The Ukrainian Child Rights Network considers that the conditions are contrary to the norms of international humanitarian law applicable to member states in the event of armed conflict and involving children, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Law of Ukraine on Child Protection.

As the procedure proposed in the Resolution will lead to re-traumatization of children who have already suffered as a result of hostilities and armed conflicts, the vast majority of parents will refuse to submit these applications, so as not to worsen the mental state of children.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 580,000 children have been affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to the fund, a third of this number, which is 200 thousand children, need urgent psychological assistance.

If the above-mentioned Resolution enters into force, the number of children recognized as victims of the military conflict in Ukraine will be significantly reduced, which is a direct violation of children’s rights in Ukraine and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Ukrainian Child Rights Network demands to simplify the procedure for granting the status of a child affected by hostilities and armed conflicts, and to provide for the granting of this status to a child in case of direct stay in the territory where hostilities took place or in the area under fire. militants.