Stolen childhood: how the Belarusian regime erases the identity of Ukrainian children through displacement, re-education and militarization

Source: Zmina, Viasna, Freedom House

With the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has intensified its state policy of forcibly relocating Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia began this practice in 2014 following the illegal annexation and occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The forced relocation of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories to Russia is part of the Kremlin’s policy to eradicate Ukrainian national and cultural identity. However, the role of the Belarusian regime and the Union State of Russia and Belarus in facilitating and aiding this policy on Belarusian territory has not received adequate attention.
With this report, Freedom House, the ZMINA Human Rights Center, the Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR), “Viasna,” and the Association of Former Law Enforcement Officers of Belarus (BELPOL) aim to highlight the complicity of the Belarusian regime and the senior leadership of the Union State.

  The report consists of four chapters. The first chapter provides a brief chronology illustrating how the situation regarding the transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus has evolved since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The second section describes in detail how the Belarusian regime is implementing the Russian system of indoctrination, re-education, and militarization. The third section identifies the entities
responsible for the Belarusian regime’s financing and organization of the relocation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children. The fourth chapter outlines the legal conclusions contained in the report, particularly regarding the international crimes committed. The report calls on the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Mezentsev, Mikhail Mishustin, and Alyaksei Talai. The report also contains recommendations for foreign governments, the Ukrainian government, international donors, civil society, and the ICC on ways to hold the Belarusian and Russian authorities accountable.

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