UN experts take Russia to task over deported Ukrainian children and a 'military agenda' in schools

Source: Associated Press

UN experts take Russia to task over deported Ukrainian children and a ‘military agenda’ in schools

BY JAMEY KEATEN
Updated 11:31 AM EST, February 8, 2024

GENEVA (AP) — A panel of U.N.-backed experts that focuses on children’s human rights called Thursday on Russia to prevent efforts to rewrite school curricula and textbooks to reflect the government’s “political and military agenda,” including over the war in Ukraine.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child held two days of hearings in Geneva last month before presenting its findings on conditions in Russia. The examination was part of a regular review that all U.N. member countries receive.

Bragi Gudbrandsson, the committee’s vice chair, said that the panel highlighted the killings and injuries of hundreds of children through “indiscriminate attacks” by Russia in Ukraine by using explosive weapons. He cited measures to strip deported Ukrainian children of their nationality and give them Russian citizenship.

The Ukrainian government and “other sources” indicated that about 20,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly deported, though it was difficult to determine exact numbers, he said. “Russia denied this,” he added.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-children-rights-ukraine-united-nations-deportations-9bf8c7c698fbdebe4151caa865f73960