The organizers of the conference were the Ukrainian PR Army within the framework of the project "Where are our people?", the association Pour l'Ukraine and the NGO "Union of Ukrainians of France".
The purpose of the conference was to draw attention to the illegal deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia and to demand the intervention of states and human rights organizations.
To date, approximately 300,000 (1) Ukrainian minors have been abducted and deported to Russia or Russian-controlled territories. Most of these children have been transferred to "filtration camps" and are being "re-educated". Hundreds have already been adopted by Russian families.
These deportations and illegal adoptions are part of the Russian government's deliberate policy of denying Ukrainian identity.
Here are some quotes from the speakers and links to transcripts of their speeches:
Sylvie Rolle, head of the organization For Ukraine, for their Freedom and Ours
Both illegal adoption and the forcible Russification of children who are forced to attend Russian schools are an integral part of the Kremlin's plan: it is through children that Russia wants to destroy the future, identity and very existence of Ukraine.
Dariia Gerasymchuk, Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation
According to Russian propaganda media, which refer to the country's defense structures, Russia has illegally resettled 705,000 Ukrainian children.
Olena Vykhor, representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights on the Protection of Children's Rights
According to UNICEF, of the 3.2 million children in the temporarily occupied territories, almost 1.6 million are at risk of hunger and lack of access to medicine.
Oleksandra Romantsova, director of the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties
It is very important to understand that this is not an evacuation, when people need to be removed from the territory where the battle is taking place for safety reasons, but a forced deportation. Forcibly displaced children are a plan to destroy Ukrainian identity, because not only are the children separated from their families and Ukrainian culture, but they are not in a safe place. We want to be able to take care of our children.
Jean-Marc Adolphe, director of Les Humanités, author of the investigation on Maria Lvova-Belova
At the beginning of September, les Humanités identified Maria Lvova-Belova, appointed by Vladimir Putin in November 2021 to the position of commissioner for children's rights in the Russian Federation. Under the guise of "humanitarian" reasons, Ms. Lvova-Belova leads what can be called a deportation system.
Bernard Golse, child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, member of the Conseil Supérieur de l'Adoption
...from the point of view of child psychiatry, this deportation of Ukrainian children for adoption - or non-adoption - in Russia represents an immediate high-risk situation, because, in addition to everything, it carries the seeds of disaster for the next generations due to the possible transfer of trauma to the next generations.
Ksenia Iliuk, Disinformation Researcher at Detector Media
..most Russians express joy and happiness about the deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children. In their comments, they use a lot of propagandistic labels, calling Ukrainians Nazis and hailing the "saving of children.
Jonathan Littell, 2006 Goncourt Prize winner for Les Bienveillantes
Gave a historical retrospective of the tradition of deportations as a tool of genocide, which modern Russia inherited from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The same approach was applied to the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Soviet times and during the times of the Russian Empire.
What are the demands put forward by activists and media persons:
1. No negotiations can begin until all illegally deported children and adults are repatriated from Russia to Ukraine.
2. The act of genocide must be recognized by the European Parliament and the authorities, as well as by the European heads of state and government. This also needs to be stopped with the help of international organizations.
3. We call on European governments and the President of the European Commission to demand that Russia release the children and all deported Ukrainian civilians.
(1) Data based on comparison of several sources and assessment of evolution over time: here, here,here,
The purpose of the conference was to draw attention to the illegal deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia and to demand the intervention of states and human rights organizations.
To date, approximately 300,000 (1) Ukrainian minors have been abducted and deported to Russia or Russian-controlled territories. Most of these children have been transferred to "filtration camps" and are being "re-educated". Hundreds have already been adopted by Russian families.
These deportations and illegal adoptions are part of the Russian government's deliberate policy of denying Ukrainian identity.
Here are some quotes from the speakers and links to transcripts of their speeches:
Sylvie Rolle, head of the organization For Ukraine, for their Freedom and Ours
Oleksandra Romantsova, director of the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties