Russian Children’s Commissioner Rejects ICC War Crime Allegations as False

Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russian Children’s Commissioner Rejects ICC War Crime Allegations as False

Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2023. (Reuters)

Russia's commissioner for children's rights, who was accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) alongside President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, said on Tuesday that the ICC's allegations were false and unclear.

The Hague-based ICC on March 17 issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights, for the war crime of unlawfully deporting children from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

The ICC said it had information that hundreds of children had been taken from orphanages and children's care homes in areas of Ukraine claimed by Russia. Some of those children, the ICC said, have been given up for adoption in Russia.

Lvova-Belova told a news conference in Moscow that the consent of children's parents was always sought and that the commission always acted in the best interests of the child.

If there were any specific problems with specific families, she said she was ready to help solve them.

"It is unclear to the presidential commissioner for children's rights what the International Criminal Court's allegations specifically consist of and what they are based on," her commission said in a separate statement about its work released before the news conference.

"The use of the formulation 'unlawful deportation of population (children)' in the ICC's official statement causes bewilderment," it said.

It said it had also not received any documents about the case from the ICC, whose jurisdiction Russia does not recognize.

The Commission said Donetsk and Luhansk, two Ukrainian regions claimed and partially controlled by Russia, had asked Russia to accept civilians, including orphans and children whose parents were missing.

The Kremlin has said the ICC arrest warrant is an outrageously partisan decision, but meaningless with respect to Russia. Russian officials deny war crimes in Ukraine and say the West has ignored what it says are Ukrainian war crimes.

Putin allies have cast the ICC, which countries including Russia, China and the United States do not recognize, as a "legal nonentity" that had never done anything significant.



UNCTAD: 'Painful' Cuts Threaten Our Task to Help Developing Countries

UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan (AFP) 
UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan (AFP) 
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UNCTAD: 'Painful' Cuts Threaten Our Task to Help Developing Countries

UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan (AFP) 
UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan (AFP) 

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), tasked with helping developing countries access the global economy, faces “painful” cuts as part of broader reforms prompted by a decline in global donor funding, its secretary general has said.

Rebeca Grynspan told Reuters she was concerned the agency’s work will be hampered while demand for its services grows, as countries seek information on the impact of sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

For UNCTAD's 2026 budget, Grynspan said she and her team had proposed cutting 70 posts. That is from an overall headcount of 500 including consultants, with about 400 permanent posts.

“This is painful. There's no way to disguise this ... we haven't cut that number of posts ever in one budget,” she said.

“It really will constrain the organization and the things that we can do”.

UN agencies like UNCTAD are having to cut costs amid a financial crisis triggered in part by the US, which has provided nearly a quarter of the world body's funding, and longer term liquidity problems.

“What worries me the most is the possibility to respond to countries in their needs fast enough,” Grynspan said.

Grynspan, who is part of the task force on broader UN80 reforms to improve efficiency and cut costs at the UN, said she was involved in discussions on how to better divide tasks among the UN's development agencies through collaboration.

The UN Secretariat, the global body's executive arm, is preparing to slash its $3.7 billion budget by 20%.

About 75 agencies and departments faced a June 13 deadline to propose budget cuts.

The UN in Geneva is proposing leaving the historic Palais Wilson, which houses its human rights office.

The final decision on UNCTAD's proposed budget will be made by the UN Secretariat and member states in September.