Kostin: 3,440 cases of war crimes against children are being investigated in Ukraine

To date, 3,440 war crimes against children are being investigated in Ukraine.

As Censor.NET with reference to the telegram channel of the Office of the Prosecutor General, Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin said during the first meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

The Prosecutor General noted that 3,440 war crimes against children are currently being investigated in Ukraine.

“We are introducing standards of child-friendly justice designed to protect their rights and interests. At the same time, we continue to cooperate closely with the International Criminal Court. Our goal is to ensure accountability of criminals at all levels, national and international,” Kostin emphasized.

As noted, the participation of more than 60 states in the Coalition is another powerful signal that the world has united to end impunity for Russian atrocities and help return Ukrainian children to their homeland. At the panel discussion, Kostin spoke about the work to ensure accountability for these crimes.

Kostin also spoke about the development of bilateral and multilateral international legal cooperation and readiness to transfer cases to states on the basis of universal jurisdiction.

“We know that there are states where children have suffered from similar crimes in the past, including in the Global South... This is just a small part of our daily efforts. And we don't stop. After all, this is our responsibility to our children. We are grateful to all the partners who support us along this path,” said Kostin.

As reported, the panel discussion was also attended by the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation Daria Gerasimchuk, an expert on international law, human rights activist Meglena Kuneva, the chief archivist of legal data of The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies the Rafal Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide Elisa von Joden- Forgay and the head of the global study on children in captivity, Manfred Nowak. The panel was moderated by Wayne Jordache.