UN Asks Russia Not To Adopt Any Ukrainian Child

INA-  sources 

A United Nations official in New York stressed Tuesday that no Ukrainian child should be adopted in Russia, at a time when several thousand children are said to have been transferred to Russia since the start of the military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

“We always stress that no child is put up for adoption in a time of conflict because the UN prefers to ‘return children to their families,’” Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, said during a press conference.

“Any decision to transfer a child must be based on his or her best interests, and any transfer must be voluntary,” with the consent of the child’s family, Khan said, returning from Ukraine.

“We reiterate, to the Russian Federation in particular, that adoption should never take place during or after a humanitarian emergency”, because children who are separated from their family “cannot be considered orphans.”
As for the children, “who were sent to Russia, we are working closely with mediators and networks to see how their cases can be documented as best as possible,” according to Khan, who was unable to give figures.

The official denied the possibility that UNICEF would be able to reach children who were transferred to Russia, saying, “We do not have access to children within the borders of the Russian Federation. It is something that should be worked out in agreement with the government of the Russian Federation, and at its request.”

The United Nations had expressed its concern in early March about the risk of forced adoption of Ukrainian children, especially those who live in institutions or boarding schools, many of which are located in the east of the country – and they are approximately one hundred thousand children – without necessarily being orphans, while most of them have special needs.

Source: GLOBE ECHO