On October 1–2, 2026, ADC Memorial, in cooperation with Ukrainian colleagues, held a seminar in Odesa on monitoring and protecting the rights of children affected by the war and Russian aggression.
The seminar brought together staff members of the civic organization “Faith, Hope and Love,” the charitable foundation Winds of Change, the Resilience Center (a project of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine) and the Roma organization “Petalentsa,” representatives of child protection services from cities and communities of Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, as well as human rights experts.
The seminar addressed ethical standards for speaking with children and talking about them, psychological support for children affected by the war, and ways to protect the rights of children who remain in temporarily occupied territories or even in the “red zones” of Ukrainian cities (i.e., effectively on the front line). Participants shared their observations, opinions and concerns about the deteriorating situation in many regions, particularly in Kherson Oblast and the city of Kherson itself, where mandatory evacuation of children has been declared, yet, according to experts, more than a thousand children remain at risk in their homes.
Eskender Bariiev, a human rights expert and head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, gave a presentation at the seminar. He explained how Crimean human rights defenders, who have been working from Kyiv for more than ten years, manage to monitor the situation in temporarily occupied Crimea and document violations of the rights not only of Crimean Tatar children but also of other children in Crimea and the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Many issues sparked lively discussions and raised painful concerns among participants, some of whom had themselves experienced occupation and had managed to escape from areas affected by hostilities only with great difficulty. Everyone had an opportunity to express their views and share their painful experiences.
Participants were also introduced to materials from the CrossborderChildhoodUA campaign: the comic guide “Safety Rules for Children in Time of War,” available in five languages (Ukrainian, Russian, Kotlyar Romani, Vlach Romani and Romanian) in print and smartphone versions, as well as its video version.
The seminar was a continuation of ADC Memorial’s work in cooperation with the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group as part of the project “Documenting and analysing international crimes committed by the Russia’s armed forces after 24.02.2022, helping victims of these crimes and informing on crimes”.
The publication is created in the framework of the project “Documenting and analysing international crimes committed by the Russia’s armed forces after 24.02.2022, helping victims of these crimes and informing on crimes” implemented by Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Center for Civil Liberties and ADC Memorial Brussels, funded by the European Union.
