No Child Forgotten: Strengthening Child-Sensitive Justice and Protection Responses to Deportation in Ukraine

Since the armed conflict in Ukraine commenced in 2014, Ukrainian children have been victims of, and disproportionately affected by, a wide variety of international crimes which have had significant physical, psychological, and developmental impacts. Deportation to Russia and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children within the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (TOTs) have become one of the most notorious crimes against children in this conflict. The deportation of children operates as a critical part of Russia’s wholesale attack on Ukrainian childhoods and forms part of a broader system of violations in which children have been subjected to militarisation, indoctrination, and systematic cultural assimilation, including through fostering and adoption programmes. Children face individualised harms and impacts based on several factors, including their age, gender, or sexual orientation, whether they have disabilities or have been placed in orphanages and institutions. Children of all conflict-related crimes deserve protection, support and accountability to facilitate healing.  

Justice responses must not only prosecute crimes — they must protect children throughout the process. The project aims to support a resilient ecosystem where children are treated as rights holders, where their experiences are handled with dignity and care, and where high-quality evidence supports meaningful justice outcomes.  

In response to these practices attacking Ukrainian childhood, GRC, with support from the European Union and in partnership with Truth Hounds, has launched an initiative to strengthen Ukraine’s justice and child protection ecosystem. The project will support the structured cascading of practical tools, guidance, and skills so that child-sensitive and trauma-informed approaches are applied more systematically throughout documentation, investigation, and adjudication processes, and will provide targeted support to impactful advocacy, protection and justice efforts where gaps or urgent needs are identified.