'Lost Childhood' Exhibition Opens At Council Of Europe

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The event is co-organized by the Permanent Representations of Ukraine and the Netherlands to the Council of Europe, a Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The exhibition features the work of photographer Roman Pashkovskyi, who has captured the haunted eyes of Ukrainian children returned home after being unlawfully deported to Russia, alongside the children's own drawings and personal stories.

“These children who have been returned represent only a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands who were abducted. It is difficult for us to relate to the world these children see. But through their drawings and their stories, we may try, just for an instant, to begin to understand what they have gone through,” said Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, at the opening.

He assured that the Council of Europe will continue its steadfast support for Ukraine, including through concrete initiatives.

Among the measures, a category for claims related to harm caused to children will soon be added to the Registry of Damage for Ukraine. In addition, in 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) created the Network on the Situation of the Children in Ukraine, and earlier this year, the Council nominated a Special Envoy on the Situation of the Children in Ukraine.

Valentyn Skuratovskyi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe, reported that 19,546 Ukrainian children had been deported or forcibly displaced, of whom only 1,605 had returned home.

“Under the initiative of the President of Ukraine, the Bring Kids Back UA we unite the efforts of Ukrainian authorities, partner countries, and international organizations to put an end to Russia's genocidal policies and to ensure that such tragedies will never be repeated,” he stressed.

Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe, emphasized that the Netherlands is deeply concerned about Russia's deliberate practice of deportation and russification of Ukrainian children

Read also: Abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia may be considered genocide - OSCE PA Special Rapporteur

The exhibition at the Council of Europe will run until September 19.

Previously, Ukrinform reported that on September 5, under the initiative Bring Kids Back UA launched by the President of Ukraine, a large group of Ukrainian children was returned from temporarily Russian-occupied territories.

Photos provided by the Council of Europe press service

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