Olena Zelenska and Korea's First Lady visit Children's Rights Centre to learn about how child victims are interviewed
Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, and Kim Keon-hee, First Lady of South Korea, have visited the Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights in Kyiv.
Source: Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets; Olena Zelenska on Telegram
Details: Lubinets said he had told the first ladies that only 383 Ukrainian children have been returned to their homeland as of today, because the Russian Federation provides no information on deported children and has no interest in reuniting families.
They also visited the centre, where children are provided with legal assistance and counselling. Lubinets told the visitors about how war crimes committed by the Russian military against Ukrainian children are investigated and recorded.
"I noted that our objective in setting up this Centre was to ensure the provision of a full range of social services, including full medical care, material support, temporary housing, and social and psychological rehabilitation for children and their families," he added.
Meanwhile Olena Zelenska described how the Barnahus international interview system, created specifically for children who have survived a crime, has been working. It has been used for six weeks at the Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights, which was opened in Kyiv further to a presidential decree under the Ombudsman’s supervision.
Quote from Zelenska: "The child undergoes a medical examination and, if possible, talks to a psychologist in a comfortable environment, telling them about what they experienced during the war. At this time, an investigator in a special separate room also listens to their story and asks the psychologist follow-up questions. The child is the victim of a war crime, and the investigator’s task is to find out about it as carefully as possible, without traumatising the child further, so that the information can then be passed on to a Ukrainian court or the International Criminal Court."
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