The commission members discussed the need to continue to inform the international community about the confirmed facts demonstrating the perpetrated crimes.
The parliamentary commission to investigate the Kiev regime’s criminal acts against minors has held its fifth meeting, co-chaired by Federation Council Deputy Speaker Inna Svyatenko and State Duma Deputy Speaker Anna Kuznetsova. This time, the meeting was timed to World Children’s Day, which was created by the UN General Assembly in 1954 and observed on November 20.
The Federation Council Deputy Speaker noted that the commission had begun drafting a report. “The analytical departments of the Federation Council and the State Duma summed up the proposals prepared by the senators and State Duma MPs from the relevant working groups. The tentative outline of the future document has been finalised.”
At the same time, Inna Svyatenko pointed to the increasing number of crimes committed by the Kiev regime against civilians. “Terrorist attacks against the population of Donbass and the other regions reunited with Russia are intensifying. Areas in the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions are also under constant daily shelling.”
The Federation Council Deputy Speaker noted that Russia was constantly drawing the international community’s attention to the crimes committed by the Kiev regime. According to Svyatenko, in November 2023 alone, Russia initiated two meetings at the UN Security Council on the shelling of Donetsk, the forced removal of children and illegal exploitation. “Another telling piece of evidence demonstrating the violation of children’s rights by the Kiev regime is information disseminated by foreign media about a lucrative business established in Ukraine, which is based on the lives and health of people, about the trafficking of Ukrainian children under the guise of charitable foundations.”
Inna Svyatenko noted that, in contrast to the Kiev regime’s inhumane policies, Russia consistently continues to defend its position condemning the Nazi regimeю The senator called the new resolution on the fight against the glorification of Nazism adopted by the UN General Assembly 3rd Committee on 3 November at the initiative of the Russian Federation a major breakthrough in international affairs. “I am certain that our commission will contribute to shaping an international framework to counter the revival of fascist regimes and preventing neo-Nazi policies from gaining traction.”
Anna Kuznetsova focused on examples of how the Kiev regime violates articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the children of Donbass. In 2024, the world will be marking the 65th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Against this backdrop, the State Duma Deputy Speaker proposed monitoring the case law to identify shortcomings and what causes such treacherous violations of what had been declared fundamental norms of international law many years ago. She also spoke out in favour of continuing to inform foreign parliamentarians about the facts revealed during the investigation process. “We will definitely contact the World Health Organisation and urge it to take action.”
In his video remarks for the commission members, Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations was relentless in its efforts to expose the lies against Russia, as well as to inform the international community about the Kiev regime’s illegal actions, in particular against children. “We regularly send materials to the UN Secretary General. Gathering facts is a complex process. We count on the commission’s assistance and are ready for close cooperation. Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN will persist in its efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the ongoing violations against children by the Kiev regime.”
The meeting participants reviewed the preliminary performance reports by the commission’s working groups. In his remarks, Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, co-coordinator of the Federation Council working group on international legal assessment of violations of the rights and freedoms of minors by the Kiev regime, said that there are no universally recognised approaches to establishing facts, as well as standards of evidence on matters dealing with human rights violations and international humanitarian law. According to him, the only international document that sets forth the basic principles of the activities of the competent UN bodies on this issue is the Declaration on Fact-finding by the United Nations in the Field of the Maintenance of International Peace and Security. “That’s why we work closely with the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee, as well as the Russian Foreign Ministry.”
According to the senator, in order to spread information on the blatant crimes of the Kiev regime, it is necessary to use the resources of inter-parliamentary organisations, friendship groups, and compatriot organisations.
Russian Deputy Minister of Health Yevgenia Kotova reported on the results of medical examinations of children from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. According to Kotova, the quality of medical services there was low before these regions reunited with the Russian Federation.
Deputy Governor of the Belgorod Region Andrei Milekhin spoke about the Kiev regime’s crimes against minors living in the region, as well as measures taken for the rehabilitation of children, including psychological counselling.
The meeting participants also visited an exhibition prepared by the Russian Defence Ministry. The exhibition materials show the crimes Ukrainian fighters had committed in the DPR and the LPR, and in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions against children during a punitive operation.