The European Court of Human Rights held oral hearings in the case "Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on behalf of ten Ukrainian children v. Russia" concerning children from orphanages in Crimea whose whereabouts have been unknown since 2014.
According to a press release provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the children, who were born between 2009 and 2013 and were in the care of the Ukrainian state at the time of the occupation of Crimea, were incorporated into the Russian system of adoption and foster care after Russia established control over the peninsula.
"When Russia occupied Crimea, these children were between one and five years old. The Ukrainian state was their guardian, and since then it has been unable to get an answer to a simple question: where are they? Today, they are teenagers who may be living with a different citizenship and in foreign families. Justice for them is not just about punishing those responsible. It is the right of every child and their loved ones to know the truth: where they are, who they are with, and who decided that they are no longer Ukrainian. This is the fundamental importance of this case," Head of Bring Kids Back UA Maksym Maksymov said.
The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union filed the application with the ECHR in January 2023. The court examined the admissibility and merits of the case. According to the applicant, the Russian government did not submit any observations on the case and did not participate in the hearing.
Third parties in the case include, among others, the Ukrainian government and seven Ukrainian and international organizations. The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) urged the Court to take into account the particular vulnerability of children and the context of the occupation.
The ECHR will issue its decision on the admissibility and merits of the case at a later date.
