[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.

                          ____________________