UKRAINE-BELARUS: Complicity of Belarus’ Red Cross in the deportation of Ukrainian children
The complicity of Belarus’ Red Cross and its head denounced in an oral statement at the UN in Geneva. Watch the 1’25” video in English with sub-titles in Russian HERE
HRWF (03.04.2024) – On 2 April, CAP/ Liberté de conscience made an oral statement supported by Human Rights Without Frontiers about the complicity of Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Red Cross in Belarus, in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. This intervention took place in the framework of the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council attended by the national delegations of all the UN Member States.
The original version is on the UN WebTV:
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k14/k14m782f1n (Click on the title and then around 1h 26’56” for direct to the statement).
The oral statement read by Christine Mirre has also been posted on YouTube with sub-titles in Russian by Dr Evgeniya Gidulianova:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoVlAr1cMWk
Oral statement by CAP/ Liberté de conscience
“With Human Rights Without Frontiers, we are deeply concerned about the situation of about 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly transferred from the Ukrainian occupied territories by and into Russia.
Just a few hundreds of them could be rescued and brought back to their families in Ukraine, mainly by NGOs but also in some cases thanks to the efficient mediation of Qatar.
Belarus was also involved in this crime against humanity.
Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Red Cross in Belarus, supported and actively participated in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
In the exercise of his duties, he was seen in camouflage and with a chevron bearing the pro-war letter Z.
He was recently put under sanctions of the European Union, the United States and the Baltic States.
The International Federation of the Red Cross has finally suspended the Belarus Red Cross.
As a reminder, the ICC in The Hague has issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.
We recommend that the OHCHR closely works with the international community to get the reunification of Ukrainian children deported by and to Russia with their families.”