"As far from the truth as possible": 50 countries condemn speech of Russian Children's Ombudsman in UN Security Council

More than 50 countries, as well as the European Union, have issued a joint statement in response to a meeting of the UN Security Council organised by Russia, at which Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, whose arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, spoke via video link.

Source: Radio Liberty

Quote from the statement: "The Russian Federation will strive to present its actions in Ukraine as consistent with international law, norms on the rights of children and the action plan for children in armed conflict. But this is as far from the truth as possible."

Details: The authors of the statement cite the facts collected by the Ukrainian authorities about the removal of 19,500 Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories and that the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin in connection with this.

The UK and the US blocked the broadcast of this meeting on the UN website.

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters that because of this, Lvova-Belova did not have "an international platform for spreading disinformation and trying to defend her terrible actions in Ukraine."

In a statement, the UK mission said on Twitter that "if Maria Lvova-Belova wants to report on her actions, she can do so in the Hague."

The ambassadors of the US, the UK, Albania and Malta also defiantly left the UN Security Council meeting room on Wednesday during Lvova-Belova's speech.

The informal meeting of the UN Security Council was convened at the initiative of Russia and was devoted to the issue of children taken from Ukraine to Russia. The Russian wording called this "evacuation of children from conflict zones."

Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, told reporters that the informal meeting was planned long before the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants and was not intended to refute the charges against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.

Russia does not conceal the programme under which it has taken thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, presenting it as "a humanitarian action to protect orphans and children abandoned in the war zone."

Earlier, Nebenzya said that this way, the Russian authorities wanted to "protect them from danger" and that they were ready to return the children to Ukraine when there are safe conditions.

Background: 

• The ІСС suspects Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova of committing war crimes – forced deportations and displacement of the population, in particular children, from territories in Ukraine captured by the Russian army.
• International law may regard this as genocide.
• Putin signed a decree in May last year, simplifying the granting of Russian citizenship to Ukrainian children, paving the way for their adoption in Russia.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!