Response to interpellation 2025/26:22 on support for documentation and tracking of abducted Ukrainian children
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned support for the documentation and tracking of abducted Ukrainian children. M argues that Sweden is active through support for organizations such as Unicef and Rädda Barnen, as well as through participation in the international coalition for the return of the children 1 2. M emphasizes that the return of the children is a priority issue and that the government is working to increase political pressure within the EU 3 4. S considers the specialized documentation work at Yale Humanitarian Research Lab to be crucial and requiring long-term funding 5 6. S wants Sweden to be proactive within the EU to secure funding and influence the USA 6 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! Carina Ödebrink has asked me what measures I and the government have taken so far to specifically support Yale Humanitarian Research Lab in its work documenting and tracking the abducted Ukrainian children. She also asks whether I and the government have taken or intend to take initiatives, bilaterally or within the framework of the EU, to secure long-term funding for Yale Humanitarian Research Lab's work. Furthermore, Carina Ödebrink asks in what way Sweden contributes to the EU coordinating support for the documentation and registration of the abducted children so that this important work is not jeopardized due to a lack of resources.
Taking a child away from their family, home, school, and friends is one of the worst atrocities that anyone can subject a human being to. Illegal deportation and forced displacement of civilians constitute war crimes and can also constitute crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against President Putin and Russia's children's rights commissioner Lvova-Belova for this reason. According to Ukrainian authorities, it concerns nearly 20,000 children, of whom only just over a thousand have been returned. The return of the children is an important part of a just and sustainable peace. Every day that passes is important for these children.
Sweden is active in this area. We contribute to children returning through support for Ukraine's work to identify the illegally removed and deported children and to provide them with psychosocial support and rehabilitation. The support is channeled through Unicef, Rädda Barnen, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and donor funds. A large part of Sweden's support is channeled through actors on the ground in Ukraine. One such actor is the organization The Reckoning Project, which collects testimonies of war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine and collaborates with Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.
Coordination within the EU takes place through meetings and information sharing in Kyiv and Brussels and between capitals.
The government is actively working and continuously investigating what additional measures and support can contribute to the children returning home and being given support to process the trauma they have been exposed to, and to ensuring that those responsible can be held accountable.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to systematic abuses against the civilian population. A particularly serious crime is the documented deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied areas. According to Ukrainian authorities, over 19,000 children have been deported so far, and the actual number is estimated to be significantly higher.
Yale Humanitarian Research Lab shows in its latest report from September that at least 210 facilities are used to hold Ukrainian children in Russia or in occupied areas. More than half of these facilities are used for ideological influence and a significant part for military training. It is a state-organized structure, not an isolated deviation. It is a deliberate strategy directed against children and against Ukraine.
When I, as rapporteur in the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, presented my report on the Ukrainian children at the OSCE's summer meeting, it was adopted in its entirety. There, we established three things: that the documentation of the crimes must be financed in the long term, that the EU, OSCE and Council of Europe must coordinate their support even further, and that sanctions must be directed against those who bear responsibility.
In October, the OSCE PA's newly elected president visited Ukraine. The meeting with President Zelenskyy led to the OSCE's parliamentary assembly becoming the first assembly to join the international coalition for the return of the children. I have been entrusted to be the assembly's special envoy in this work. It gives the assembly a clear political mandate and the opportunity to directly influence the coalition's work.
It is in this context that the question of funding becomes decisive. When Yale's work risks coming to a halt at the turn of the year because the USA's new administration is cutting off the funding, it is not just about a project ending. It is also about the fact that we risk losing the most advanced and comprehensive documentation of the children's fate and thus the tools to track and repatriate them.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs refers to important efforts via Unicef, the Red Cross, and Save the Children. They are important, but they do not replace the specialized documentation work. Without Yale's work, we lose the mapping, the chains of evidence, and the possibility to react quickly when children are moved.
Therefore, I want to ask the Minister: How does the government intend to push forward within the EU to secure the funding for Yales and other independent documentation actors' work? And how will the government work to ensure that the EU, OSCE, and other partners engage in a clear dialogue with the USA to influence American decisions and secure continued international pressure for the children's return?
We need sanctions and diplomacy. We need humanitarian aid and technical documentation. And we need countries that take responsibility. Sweden can and should be one of them.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! I really want to say that I appreciate that Carina Ödebrink continues to keep this important issue high on the agenda. I also share Carina Ödebrink's view that Yale Humanitarian Research Lab plays an important role in documenting and highlighting Russia's systematic removal of Ukrainian children.
Their latest report shows how Russia has systematically established a network of camps for the deportation, indoctrination, and militarization of Ukrainian children in violation of international law. There are examples of how Ukrainian children are forced to obtain Russian passports, receive education according to Russian curricula, and are forbidden from speaking their own language. This is described in the report as a deliberate strategy to erase their identity and prevent reunification with family in Ukraine.
Tracing and identifying these children is a first step towards repatriation. Documentation is also crucial to ensure accountability. In this context, I would like to thank Carina Ödebrink for her contribution within OSCE and for the report on Russian abductions and deportations of Ukrainian children.
The Government is aware of the major financial challenges that Yale Humanitarian Research Lab faces. According to the lab itself, it can continue its work at the current time through private donations. No application for funds has been received by the UD.
Regarding the questions about the work at the EU level, I would like to briefly mention that the EU coordination taking place in Kyiv and Brussels and between the member states' capitals is important. We welcome Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's initiative for a high-level meeting on the abducted children. It will be an important opportunity to increase the political pressure and deepen the cooperation. Sweden naturally views this positively and contributes actively to increased EU coordination on the issue.
In the 19th sanctions package – which is the latest but not the last, I hope – a number of individuals who have contributed to the removal of Ukrainian children were listed. In addition, the EU has recently agreed on a new listing criterion that makes it possible to target those responsible for the abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children. This is a welcome step to increase accountability.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Mr. Speaker! We know that every abduction of a child is a crime, but what we are seeing now is something greater – a systematic attack on an entire country's future. Children are being subjected to propaganda, re-education, and military training. It is a full-scale attempt to silence a generation and shape the next according to Russian ideology.
That the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is now part of the international coalition for the Ukrainian children is important. It strengthens our political mandate and gives us opportunities to influence the work directly.
When it comes to Sweden's support for Ukraine in general and the support for the abducted children in particular, there is total consensus in the Riksdag. It is incredibly important. The Foreign Minister emphasizes Sweden's humanitarian support, and that is completely correct. But it does not answer my main question: How do we secure the documentation?
Yale's work is very clear and crucial, as is their documentation. Their funding has an upper limit. Therefore, it is important that we, the outside world, ensure that the work can continue.
We must simultaneously keep up the pressure against Russia. The sanctions must not be weakened. They must be targeted at the structures that enable the continuation of the war and the deportations. But we also need a strong international effort. The EU, OSCE, Council of Europe and our transatlantic partners, not least the USA, must act together. The USA plays a central role when it comes to both sanctions and funding of international programs.
In my opinion, Sweden must be proactive within the EU to influence the US position. I want to ask the Minister again: What concrete decision does the government intend to push forward to ensure that the documentation does not cease? Sweden is and has been a leader when it comes to children's rights and should therefore speak with an even clearer and louder voice regarding the issue of the Ukrainian children. Or are we to take off the leadership jersey as a humanitarian superpower? This is an issue where Sweden can and should take a lead.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! I can assure Carina Ödebrink that Sweden's government wears the leader's jersey with pride. We also feel a great responsibility when it comes to safeguarding children's rights all around the world. We are in complete agreement on the importance of addressing one of the most heartbreaking consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the illegally deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children.
Sweden is actively engaged in the work to document, track, and repatriate the Ukrainian children. As I mentioned, we provide support to organizations such as Unicef, Rädda Barnen, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and The Reckoning Project, an actor that collaborates with exactly the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab in exactly this work. The Government intends to continue contributing to Ukraine's efforts so that the children can return home.
Sweden also actively participates in the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children. The coalition was launched by Ukraine and Canada in December 2023 and consists of just over forty countries and organizations. The coalition arranges meetings, shares information and communication materials with the aim of improving coordination and contributing to the children being able to be reunited with their families.
I can also mention that I, together with the Queen, participated in a meeting within the framework of the international coalition during the UN High-Level Week, led by President Zelenskyy and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, where we agreed that we must intensify our efforts further.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thousands of Ukrainian children have been uprooted in the most formative years of their lives. Children are losing their language, their identity, and their relatives, not by accident but as a deliberate strategy. It is about children who have been deprived of the most fundamental: the right to belong and the right to grow up in safety.
Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children are a war crime, and those responsible must be held accountable. But it is also an attack on Ukraine's future. By taking the children, Russia is trying to deprive the country of what matters most: the next generation.
We must never get used to these stories. We must never accept that the children's fates disappear into the statistics. The abducted children must be central to the peace and to continued strong sanctions against Russia. We must do everything we can so that every child can return home, back to their identity, and receive the support required to heal.
To make this possible, the documentation must continue. Yale Humanitarian Research Labs' work shows how children are held in at least 210 facilities and institutions where they are subjected to re-education and military training, and that the scope is likely significantly larger. The documentation must not cease. We therefore need to secure Yale Humanitarian Research Labs' future regarding funding and strengthen international cooperation within the EU, OSCE, and the Council of Europe, as well as through the coalition for the return of the children. Finally, we also need to ensure that we influence the USA regarding the future of Yale.
We agree in large parts. I just want to emphasize the importance of us pushing even harder. Thank you for the interpellation debate!
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! I intended to briefly touch upon this regarding the American aid, which has naturally been and is very important for Ukraine. Continued American engagement is of central importance, alongside the great responsibility that Europe also takes. The consequences of the reductions are great. They affect both Ukrainian institutions and civil society, and their ability to ensure efficiency and accountability and to uphold democratic norms is naturally affected.
At the same time, we know that Ukrainian actors are innovative and accustomed to handling and adapting to changing situations. That being said, Ukraine's partners must be prepared to take greater responsibility in order to strengthen resilience and recovery in Ukraine.
Yale Humanitarian Research Lab is one of many actors who are active in Ukraine and have been affected by the withdrawal. One has at least partially been able to compensate for this through fundraising.
I would like to thank you again for this interpellation. There are few questions that are so important. The return of the Ukrainian children is non-negotiable. It is an important part of a just and sustainable peace and an extremely prioritized issue for Sweden.
As a mother, one can hardly imagine how it must feel for a Ukrainian mother who has been deprived of her child. The thought that the child might not even recognize her, if one even gets the opportunity to be reunited, is too painful to even think about. But it is our duty to do everything we can to reduce the suffering.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.