Protection of children’s rights and interests under war conditions in the east of Ukraine and in the annexed Crimea Republic: new challenges for Ukraine

Abstract

The annexation of Crimea and Russian arm aggression at Donbas abruptly worsened the condition in the sphere of children protection and abruptly aggravated problems, which overcoming must be guided by state and social efforts.

Under these conditions the state government already in first months of arm actions took urgent measures for settlement of children, whose parents (one of parents) had died as a result of wound, contusion or inability, gotten in the districts of the anti-terrorist operation, in short terms (Order of the President № 835/2014 of 29.10.2014 “On urgent arrangements as to providing additional social guarantees for separate categories of citizens” (p. 5, part 1)).

Then accepted Laws of Ukraine “On provision of rights and freedoms of citizens and legal regime at the timely occupied territory of Ukraine”, “On timely arrangements for the period of the anti-terrorist operation” contain principles as to providing the educational process and social protection of children, norms of other laws – statements, directed on protection of rights of children in difficult living circumstances, on education, social protection, rest of children and so on.

In 2016 Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On childhood protection” was added by the term – a child, having suffered from military actions and arm conflicts, yet unknown to the national legislation.

The modern condition of the Ukrainian legislation needs improving a part of requirements to observing rights and interests of children, removed from AR Crimea, uncontrolled territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk region, that gives children a possibility to develop their potential as Ukrainian citizens, full-time responsible members of society.

At overcoming legislative gaps in the sphere of children’s rights protection in the arm conflict in Ukraine, the national legislation must be brought to correspondence with requirements of international legal acts.

Having ratified the Facultative protocol to the Convention as to children’s participation in arm conflicts, our state confirmed the readiness to oppose their huge harmful influence on children, condemned illegal encroachment on them under conditions of military actions, acknowledged a necessity to intensify children’s protection from a participation in arm conflicts. There is a series of problems, connected with realization of statements of the facultative protocol.

 The national legislation of Ukraine doesn’t determine if the Facultative protocol is a law of direct action, and if it can be directly used at court at protecting children’s rights, or it is necessary to refer to other – today absent – norms of the national legislation that explain its statements.

Ukraine has not ratified the Statute of the International criminal court that generates the condition of impunity of persons, committing crimes against children that are accepted as such by the international legislation on human rights and by the Roman statute, and violates the principle of inevitability of penalty for persons that commit military crimes against children.

The national legislation doesn’t contain norms that distinctly and unambiguously prohibit or introduce criminal responsibility for recruiting and using persons, younger than 18 years, in arm conflicts.

Observance of international standards of children’s rights protection in arm conflicts by Ukraine is a guarantee of preserving life, physical and psychical wholeness, health and relative social welfare of suffered children and their families and also of communities, both in the East of Ukraine and in regions, that settle migrants. A combination of efforts for providing children’s interests is an important precondition of integration to the European community and observance of general human values