Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Russia has transferred thousands of children from Ukraine to Russia for “re-education”; what are the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in respect of any such actions; and what steps, if any, they plan to take in response to these reports.

The Conflict Observatory report supports growing evidence of large-scale forced transfers of Ukrainian civilians. The UK calls on Russia to cease this practice. Forcibly transferring children of one group to another may constitute genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. We are supporting Ukraine's domestic investigations and the International Criminal Court investigations into war crimes, and Ukraine's application against Russia before the International Court of Justice. On 8 March, I met the UN Special Representative for Children & Armed Conflict to discuss the international response. On 16 June 2022, we sanctioned the Russian Children's Rights Commissioner for her role in the forced transfers.