[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 158 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4851-H4852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STOLEN CHILDREN OF UKRAINE
(Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, in my meeting last week with the
President of Ukraine, we spoke about the devastation of stolen children
from Ukraine by the Russian fighters, children now that have been
taken, reprogrammed, and not returned to their families.
Today, we voted to continue to support Ukraine in its democratic
fight for freedom and democracy against the tyranny of Russia.
I now stand here today introducing the Oleksandr Ivanov Act. This
bill, on which I am joined by Representative Joe Wilson and other
Members, is a bill to address the stolen children of Ukraine that have
been taken to Russia. This act is dedicated to Oleksandr, a young boy
who was shot dead in the car with his grandmother.
This unjust and brutal war has put millions of Ukrainian women and
children at risk of trafficking. Millions of children have been
deprived of their education and are experiencing trauma.
More than 6,000 children are in custody in Russia, and there are at
least 43 camps and facilities where the Russian Government has interned
Ukrainian children.
This legislation will provide sanctions against Russia and demand
that the children of Ukraine be returned to Ukraine.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the introduction of my bill,
the Oleksandr Ivanov Act.
On February 26, 2022, Lilia Vasylivna Kolesnyk was driving from Kyiv,
Ukraine to the suburb of Bucha with her grandson, Oleksandr Ivanov when
Russian forces opened fire on their car, killing Oleksandr.
Although wounded herself, Ms. Kolesnyk was able to drive to a medical
clinic, where her grandson was formally declared dead.
This act is dedicated to Oleksandr Ivanov, his family, and all the
children and families of Ukraine who are suffering serious injury and
trauma due to Russia's unjustified, brutal, and genocidal war on
Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin,
launched a premeditated war against Ukraine in an attack on democracy
and a grave violation of international law, global peace, and security.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, as of July 2023,
there are a recorded 5.1 million internally displaced people in
Ukraine, 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine globally, and 17.6 million
Ukrainian people in need of humanitarian assistance.
The unjust and brutal war has put millions of Ukrainian women and
children at risk of trafficking, millions of children have been
deprived of their education and are experiencing trauma, and according
to a report by Yale University, more than 6,000 children are in
Russians custody.
According to a report by Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab
(Yale HRL), at least 6,000 children from Ukraine ages four months to 17
years have been held at camps and other facilities within Russia-
occupied Crimea and mainland Russia since Russia's full-scale invasion
began.
There are at least 43 camps and facilities where the Russian
government has interned Ukrainian children.
Among the camps identified by Yale HRL, at least 32 (78 percent) of
the camps seem to be engaged in organized re-education initiatives that
subject Ukrainian children to Russia-focused educational, cultural,
patriotic, and/or military teachings.
And numerous Ukrainian children have been placed into Russian foster
families.
These Ukrainian children have had their names and birthdates changed
when adopted, making them difficult to trace.
Russian propaganda cynically portrays its adoption of Ukrainian
children as an act of generosity that gives new homes to helpless
orphans.
Russian state media shows local officials hugging and kissing newly
arrived Ukrainian children and handing them Russian passports.
These children are not happy, they are being ripped away from their
families and their homes.
Forcibly transferring children of one group to another group is a
violation of Article II(e) of the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 and the Geneva Convention IV,
including articles 24, 25, 50, 78 and 82.
The International Criminal Court has indicted Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria
Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population
(children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from
occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under articles
8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.
As reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, over 4oo schools
have been destroyed and an additional 2,600 schools are damaged across
Ukraine.
The war has also caused Ukrainian women and children to become more
vulnerable to being trafficked.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that 90
percent of the 5.8 million refugees who have fled Ukraine for Europe
are women and children.
Reports have stated that traffickers patrol border entry points,
train stations, and refugee centers with the purpose of attracting,
exploiting, and targeting refugees.
Specifically, traffickers lure in refugees with promises of
accommodation, transportation, and employment, sometimes disguising
themselves as volunteers providing humanitarian assistance.
To hold accountable those who have committed these atrocities and
have put the lives of thousands of Ukrainian women and children at
risk, my bill:
Supports programs specifically for trauma treatment and healing,
rehabilitation and where necessary prostheses, for Ukrainian children
affected by the war including nationwide educational programs of
psychological support to address trauma and stress for all of Ukraine's
children, integrated into school curriculum and offered through
clinical and social services;
Supports programs to rebuild the education system in Ukraine and
education for Ukrainian child refugees, in cooperation with other
countries, international organizations, and civil society;
Supports the development of a unified and consolidated searchable
registry of missing Ukrainian children in order to facilitate
identification of children and family reunification. The registry
should ensure strict data protection and availability in the Ukrainian,
Russian, and English languages. In addition, the public should be made
aware of its existence and use;
Supports the creation of a unified central emergency call center hub
linked to law enforcement in Ukraine and in other countries to enable
reporting on and interventions on behalf of missing children originally
from Ukraine and suspected cases of human trafficking and sexual
exploitation, including online, of children originally from Ukraine.
Supports the creation of an international mechanism to facilitate
vetting of volunteers and other non-governmental front-line responders
working with refugees or with victims of other major crises or natural
disasters by government authorities or law enforcement. Such an
international vetting system could include internationally recognized
certifications verifying individuals who have been recently cleared to
work with refugees;
Supports efforts to only allow appropriately vetted and credentia11ed
individuals (such as described in the above section) access to
refugees;
Continues to support efforts by the Ukrainian government to increase
collaboration with their European counterparts on anti-trafficking
[[Page H4852]]
investigations and increased awareness efforts.
Supports the development of robust child protective mechanisms for
vulnerable children, including those from Ukraine, in Ukraine and in
countries that have received Ukrainian refugees, that include social
assistance and protection to help prevent human trafficking and sexual
abuse of Ukrainian children.
Works with Ukrainian authorities to ensure that law enforcement
officials stationed at major border crossing points during a refugee
crisis are appropriately trained to prevent human trafficking and
support other measures to monitor for indications of human trafficking
targeting refugees in areas surrounding border crossings.
My bill also imposes financial blocking and visa sanctions on any
foreign person or organization that the President or Secretary of the
Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determine are
responsible for engaging in or facilitating the transfer of Ukrainian
children to Russia and/or Russian controlled areas of Ukraine and/or
for their forced assimilation, adoption, or placement in a foster home,
and engaging in or facilitating the human trafficking of Ukrainian
refugees.
The Oleksandr Ivanov Act also contains a provision that requires the
Department of State to submit a report on United States efforts for
reintegrating Ukrainian children affected by the war including but not
limited to: supporting the rebuilding and redevelopment of the
Ukrainian education system, and the implementation of mental health
supports to address trauma and family separations.
Holding Russia accountable for war crimes is crucial.
There can be no impunity for these heinous crimes.
Today, I call my colleagues to action and ask that they join me in
seeking liberty and justice for all those in Ukraine by cosponsoring
the Oleksandr Ivanov Act.
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