France Allocates Funding To Support Centers For Children Returned From Russian Deportation Barrot

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said this during a discussion titled“Protecting Ukraine's Children: From War to Return, Justice and Reconstruction” at the Paris Peace Forum, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“Children who have been forcibly deported, subjected to ideological indoctrination, separated from their families and placed in internment camps need help recovering after returning home. That is why we support such centers in Kyiv and Kharkiv. They are the ones receiving these children after their extremely difficult journey,” Barrot said.

The minister said that during his first visit to Kyiv two years ago, he had visited one of the centers supported by France. Barrot stressed that the testimonies of these children were important for further investigations.

“Children must be heard and given assistance. And, of course, their testimonies must be collected so that those responsible can be held accountable. We have allocated budget funding for this work,” he said.

Barrot recalled that the issue concerns approximately 20,000 deported Ukrainian children, the vast majority of whom have yet to be brought home. The minister also drew attention to the Russification of children who remain in territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

According to Barrot, France has supported the independent work of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children. Paris has also supported the establishment of the Register of Damage for Ukraine and a special tribunal for the crime of aggression.

“There can be no peace without justice and appropriate punishment for crimes,” the minister stressed. He said that holding those responsible accountable was necessary to ensure lasting peace and prevent such crimes from happening again.

Read also: Ukraine returns 2,665 children taken by Russia

It should be recalled that in March, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities constituted crimes against humanity.

In August, UNICEF reported that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, the UN had verified the deaths or injuries of more than 3,900 children in Ukraine. According to UNICEF's February estimate, approximately 2.6 million Ukrainian children remained forcibly displaced within the country or abroad.

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