Anna Tkachova co-moderated the discussion "Abduction of Ukrainian children: is the international law powerless?"
On 19 September 2023, the International Law Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) gathered leading experts to discuss the abduction of Ukrainian children and the role of international law in resolving this issue. Counsel of International Arbitration and Cross-Border Litigation at Asters Anna Tkachova co-moderated the discussion.
During the event, the speakers explained the scale of the problem and its peculiarities, as well as the importance of qualifying child abduction under international law. They also elaborated on the effectiveness of the tools offered by international judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, including the effectiveness of the international criminal justice system.
Anna Tkachova notes: "Russia engages in systemic and widespread practice of abduction of Ukrainian children. Various sources report that since February 2022, moscovia has forcibly deported between 19,500 to 700,000 children. Although the aggressor-state portrays its actions as "rescue", "evacuation", "protection" and "adoption", in fact, under international law such actions can be qualified as "war crimes", "crimes against humanity" and "genocide". I am grateful to UBA for drawing attention to this issue and to the speakers for expert and fruitful discussion as well as for their work in identifying ways to resolve this issue."
The recording of the discussion is available by the link.
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