ECHR hears case of 10 Ukrainian children missing after Crimea annexation

The European Court of Human Rights has heard a case concerning 10 Ukrainian children who disappeared after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The children were reportedly taken from childcare institutions and later put up for adoption. Their whereabouts have not been confirmed since then, according to the group that brought the case.

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The case was lodged by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, which argues that Russian nationality was imposed on the children after they were taken from institutions in Crimea. The organisation says the children were between one and five years old at the time. It says repeated requests by Ukrainian authorities have not produced information on where they are now.

The rights group says the situation amounts to enforced disappearance. It also says the children's identities were altered, including their first and last names and, in some cases, dates of birth. That, it argues, has made it extremely difficult to trace them.

The hearing took place on Tuesday, adding a fresh judicial stage to a long-running dispute over children taken from Russian-occupied areas. The case carries wider significance because it sits within the broader legal and political conflict between Ukraine and Russia over the annexation of Crimea and the treatment of children from occupied territory. The issue has also drawn attention from international legal institutions.

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In 2017, the International Criminal Court said there were reasonable grounds to believe Vladimir Putin bore individual criminal responsibility in relation to the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. The hearing also comes against the backdrop of wider allegations by Ukrainian human rights and journalistic groups that Moscow has violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Those allegations include deportation, illegal adoption and changes to children's identities and nationalities.

A special envoy of the Council of Europe secretary general said before the hearing that Ukrainian children must remain at the centre of the political agenda. The case is one of several efforts to establish what happened to children taken from institutions in Crimea after 2014. The rights groups involved say the lack of information has persisted for years, despite repeated attempts to obtain answers.

What remains unclear is the current location and legal status of the 10 children, and whether the court process will lead to any new disclosure about their fate. Further proceedings are expected to focus on the evidence behind the disappearance claims and the responsibilities of the authorities involved.

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