Seimas adopted a resolution on the abduction and unlawful deportation of Ukrainians by the Russian Federation

Press release, 16 June 2022

The Seimas adopted the resolution on the abduction and unlawful deportation of Ukrainians by the Russian Federation unanimously, with 50 votes in favour.

‘This document is important because it shows that history, unfortunately, is in the making today, that we can, unfortunately, expect nothing new from an aggressive Russia, whether it was 80 years ago or today, as it is committing the same crimes against humanity, deportations, is pursuing the policies and military aggression that leads individual countries, and possibly entire regions, to possible famine, and other horrible things are taking place [...] The purpose of this resolution is also to remind about the beginning of our mass deportations 81 years ago and to draw the attention of the world, the European Union, the relevant organisations and institutions to what is happening in Ukraine today. Not only war, killing of innocent civilians and children, but also deportations,’ said Chair of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, one of the initiators of the draft.

The resolution condemns the expulsion of more than one million Ukrainian civilians from their homes by the Russian Federation and their forced deportation to the Russian Federation or territories temporarily under its control, with the aim of destroying the Ukrainian identity and forcibly assimilating the civilians; it is stressed that among these civilians, some 200 000 children have been forcibly deported, with the Russian Federation thus violating international law and the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian children guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Hague and the Geneva Conventions.

Having regard to the fact that the Russian Federation and its armed forces are committing in Ukraine grave war crimes aiming at the extermination of the Ukrainian people and their identity through murder, forced deportation, abduction, rape and torture, the Seimas recognised that the large-scale armed aggression and forced deportation carried out by the armed forces of the Russian Federation and its political and military leadership to the Russian Federation or territories temporarily under its control constitute the deportation of the Ukrainian people.

Under the resolution, the Seimas appeals to other states to invoke the principle of universal jurisdiction when investigating and prosecuting the persons who organise and contribute to deportations of the Ukrainian people or otherwise prepare their forced deportations or engage in them, commit crimes against humanity, genocide and other war crimes; calls on the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, the states signatory to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the International Red Cross, parliaments and governments of foreign states to recognise and seek accountability for deportations, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian people.

Prepared by

Information and Communication Department

Chief Specialist, Press Office

Saulė Eglė Trembo

Tel. +370 5  239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]