COPENHAGEN, 20 May 2026 – The following statement was issued today by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Envoy on Russian Abductions and Deportations of Ukrainian Children Carina Ödebrink (Sweden):
“I welcome, in my capacity as the OSCE PA’s Special Envoy for the return of Ukrainian children, that 41 OSCE participating States have decided to invoke the Moscow Mechanism to investigate indoctrination and treatment of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation.
The Moscow Mechanism remains one of the OSCE’s most effective tools for investigating and documenting human rights violations. It is essential that the OSCE continues to make full use of every available tool to combat Russia’s ongoing violations of international law. This marks the sixth time the Moscow Mechanism have been invoked in response to Russia’s aggression, with previous Moscow Mechanism missions documenting clear human rights violations and grave international crimes. It is the second Moscow Mechanism mission dedicated to Ukrainian children, following the 2023 invocation that investigated their forcible transfer and deportation by the Russian Federation.
It is particularly significant that this invocation places a dedicated focus on Ukrainian children. The protection of children in armed conflict is a fundamental obligation under international law, and the reports we see of deportation, forced assimilation, militarization and indoctrination, are deeply concerning.
Through my work as Special Envoy, I have gained insights into the scale and systematic nature of Russia’s crimes against Ukrainian children. The prevailing view is that of a co-ordinated and very troubling policy that aims to derive Ukrainian children of their identity, development and fundamental rights – stripping away their childhood. In my report on the deported Ukrainian children, which I presented at the Annual Session in Porto last year, one of my recommendations was that the OSCE should follow up on the situation of the children.
Therefore, I strongly welcome the renewed effort to ensure accountability and strengthen international action to protect affected children and support their safe return. At the same time, I call on the Russian Federation to co-operate fully with OSCE institutions and mechanisms. Continued refusal to co-operate only heightens concern and undermines trust.
The OSCE must remain steadfast in its commitment to accountability, to the protection of children, and to ensuring that those responsible for serious violations are held to account.”
For more information on the work of Special Envoy Ödebrink, please click here.
More information on the OSCE PA’s work supporting Ukraine is available here.
