Children's rights must be protected in any Ukraine peace plan, 130 MPs tell Foreign Office

"A cross-party group of more than 130 Westminster MPs has written to ministers urging them to ensure any US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine includes protections for forcibly-deported Ukrainian children, saying the current version risked extinguishing their rights. Led by the Labour MP Johanna Baxter, the letter to Stephen Doughty, whose Foreign Office brief includes Europe, warns that the current peace framework being touted by the Trump administration would hollow out protections to children enshrined in the Geneva convention."

"Tens of thousands of children in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia have been removed from their homes, with many taken to camps where they are indoctrinated and militarised, an effort widely seen as a war crime. In the letter to Doughty, the 132 MPs, who come from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP and two Northern Irish parties, note that Russia is a signatory to the Geneva convention, which gives special protection to children during war."

"Yet deeply disturbing reports in recent days indicate that the 28-point peace framework' for Ukraine, reportedly negotiated by the United States, makes no reference to the specific treatment of children, nor does it recognise their protected status under international humanitarian law, the letter continues, saying that the only mention of children is in connection with a wider point about returning prisoners of war or hostages."

More than 130 Westminster MPs from multiple parties urged ministers to ensure any US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine includes protections for forcibly-deported Ukrainian children. Led by Labour MP Johanna Baxter, the MPs warned that a 28-point framework being promoted by the Trump administration would hollow out Geneva Convention protections for children. Tens of thousands of children in Russian-occupied areas have been removed, with many placed in camps for indoctrination and militarisation, actions widely characterised as war crimes. The MPs stressed Russia's obligations as a Geneva Convention signatory and criticised any blanket amnesty that would nullify arrest warrants for those implicated in forced deportations.

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