“The occupation administrations convert secondary schools into military and Cossack cadet corps, introducing a component based on the principles of ideology propaganda aimed at forming a lasting negative attitude towards Ukraine and imposing certain principles of religion,” Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova posted on Telegram, as seen by Ukrinform.
Currently, 33 cadet classes function in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region, where subjects of military training and Russian Orthodoxy are intensively studied and students are required to wear military cadet uniforms.
The Commissioner says the actions of the occupation administration violate children’s rights enshrined in Article 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which preserves their identity, including nationality, name, and family relations without unlawful interference, as well as Article 29 of the Convention, according to which children shall be prepared for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, and tolerance.
In order to protect children’s rights, Denisova appealed to the Head of the United Nations Children’s Fund Office in Ukraine with a request to contribute to ensuring their observance in the noon-government-controlled territory and to prevent children from being involved in the armed conflict.
