As an elected representative I endorse the overwhelmingly supported May 8 resolution of the European Parliament, demanding the return from the Russian Federation of abducted Ukrainian children and give my full support to the June 1 International Day of Action in support of this urgent cause.
The Yale School of Medicine has summarised the scale of the crime against humanity involved: "Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine includes a systematic campaign of forcibly moving children from Ukraine into Russia, fracturing their connection to Ukrainian language and heritage through 're-education', and even disconnecting children from their Ukrainian identities through adoption. Children documented by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) range in age from four months to 17 years, and many have families looking for them in Ukraine."
As the vote in the European Parliament showed, all supporters of human rights, independent of political convictions, will support this call and the campaign to force the return of the kidnapped Ukrainian children.
Signed
Per Clausen, Member of the European Parliament, Enhedslisten (Denmark)
John McDonnell, Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington, Labour Party (United Kingdom)