Check against delivery - Speech by Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Ambassador Gonggrijp,

Mr Skuratovskyi,

Excellencies,

Dear friends,

Through the stunning work of photographer Roman Pashkoviskyi, we look straight into the eyes of unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.

Children ripped from their homes and families —deprived of health and education — compelled to renounce their heritage and culture and erase their Ukrainian identity.

Today, we are invited to have a glimpse of the terror and loss that is their permanent nightmare.

And these are the children who have been returned — a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands who have been stolen.

It is difficult for us to relate to the world these children see — a world full of so much pain and violence.

But through their drawings and their stories, we may try, just for an instant, to begin to understand what they have gone through.

Look at Illia, the 11-year-old boy who lost his mother and his home, and who was operated on many times without anaesthetic.

Illia’s drawings are monstrous reptiles, metaphors for the horrors he endured.

It is clear that Illia’s suffering can never be undone, nor that of the other innocent victims of this brutal war of aggression.

But the Council of Europe can and will continue in its unwavering support for Ukraine and its children.

And we have established concrete initiatives to address their plight.

We set up the Consultation Group on the Children of Ukraine in 2023.

One year later, the Parliamentary Assembly launched its  Network on the Situation of the Children of Ukraine.

And this February the Secretary General nominated his Special Envoy on the Situation of the Children of Ukraine.

The Register of Damage for Ukraine will soon open categories of claim for harms against children.

And in its recent landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights found Russia responsible for “systemic and regulatory” violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Court also stated that Russia is responsible for the unlawful transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children — and must cooperate in their safe return.

In fact, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, for the unlawful deportation of children.

Under the Rome Statute, this is a war crime.

But again, even their safe return will not bring peace to these children.

Their nightmares will continue.

Expert help is needed to guide them to physical and mental health, and a future in their own native land, Ukraine. And this is where we must help – all of us.

Dear friends,

Look into the eyes of these children. Don’t look away, or avoid seeing them.

Let us remember their stories as we go about our work and daily routines.

Only by working together will we unite these Ukrainian children with family and friends – and step by step bring them back to a life they deserve.

Thank you for your attention.