Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I commend the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for setting the scene. She might be small in stature, but she has the biggest heart in the Chamber—well done. The opportunity to urge our Government to continue to do the right thing and act for the innocent people of Ukraine is the reason why we are all here.

[Jess Brown-Fuller]

The strength of feeling in the room is shown by the raw emotion of the hon. Gentleman and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (John Milne). Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the most important thing we can do today is take the opportunity to come together, across the parties, and recognise the need to continue to support these Ukrainian families?

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. It is much appreciated.

The forced deportation of Ukrainian children without their parents by Russian forces is a grave violation of international humanitarian law. Indeed, I will go as far as to say that these actions constitute a war crime under article 8 of the Rome statute, which explicitly forbids the unlawful deportation or transfer of protected persons. These acts, targeting the most vulnerable, have torn families apart and have eroded the culture and national identity of Ukraine’s future generations.

Article 6 of the Rome statute is also relevant. The systematic and calculated manner of these abductions is evidenced by reports that refer to some 20,000 Ukrainian children. The figures are unknown, as the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South pointed out. Who knows what they really are? The crimes demand urgent scrutiny to determine whether they meet the threshold for genocide.

These children, torn from their families and homeland, are victims of a deliberate campaign by Russian and Belarusian authorities not only to erase their identity and culture, but to erase their memories of their families. This is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a moral outrage. Forced deportation by Russian authorities during the ongoing conflict has created a stolen generation—a term that is reminiscent of other historical cases, such as that of Australian’s stolen generation, when Government policy saw indigenous children removed from their families and communities to assimilate them into a different cultural identity. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now. To steal a nation’s children is to steal its future.

The United Kingdom must lead with moral and legal clarity on agreeing a course of action to hold Russia’s feet to the fire over these crimes against humanity. I believe that we must intensify our sanctions on Russian and Belarusian officials, military and other state actors who are complicit in these abductions. We must demand justice through international legal bodies, including the International Criminal Court, to hold perpetrators accountable. The UK must support investigations and advocate for expedited arrest warrants. Justice delayed is justice denied. These children and their grieving families cannot wait.

The scale of the tragedy remains unreported by the mainstream media, but I believe that today’s debate amplifies the voices of Ukrainian families, places pressure on policymakers and signals to Russia that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stands firmly against this greatest act of sheer inhumanity. The forced transfer of children is explicitly defined as genocide under article II of the 1948 genocide convention.

The abduction of Ukrainian children is yet another stain on humanity’s already overburdened conscience. By intensifying sanctions, pursuing justice and acknowledging the genocidal nature of Russia’s actions, the UK can be a leader in demanding the return of these children to their families. We cannot stand idly by while their futures are stolen. I therefore look to the Minister, who I believe is of the same mind. We must act with the urgency and the conviction that this crisis demands and remind Russia that good people will not stand idly by.