South Africa could deliver a blow to Russia: the Africans are set to assist Ukraine in a crucial matter.

A new participant in the complex process of returning Ukrainian children from Russia, who have been deported or forcibly taken, is the Republic of South Africa (RSA), which will play its role in this matter. This will likely involve working on the standardization of logistical and legal issues. For effective assistance from a country on a distant continent, the Ukrainian side needs to overcome certain biases and focus not on numbers but on the real stories of small Ukrainians and Russia's efforts to eradicate their national identity.

Details about the advocacy campaign in RSA were shared with Telegraph by legal expert and PhD in law Ekaterina Rashevskaya from the Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR).

Filtering – a brake on the return of children

At the end of October, during a humanitarian dimension conference of the Peace Formula held in Montreal, Canada, it was announced that the Republic of South Africa (RSA) would join in the return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. Last week, a Ukrainian delegation of civil society representatives visited this country to continue discussions on concrete steps regarding this issue. This took place at an expert panel as part of the South African Action Day, organized under the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Bring Kids Back UA and the 12th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy.

- In fact, RSA, as a mediator state in the return of Ukrainian children, will join Qatar and the Vatican, – explained Ekaterina Rashevskaya. – However, it is essential to understand that we cannot expect RSA to simply become a second Qatar (with the mediation of this Arab country having already succeeded in returning Ukrainian children from Russia — Ed.), because that is neither necessary nor feasible. The issue of the scale of returning children is not about Qatar being unable to manage the transfer of lists or lacking funds for logistics. No. The problem lies in the fact that the Russian Federation continues to manipulate the vulnerability of parents, exploit gaps in international law, and abuse the presence of children under its control. This is the issue that should be addressed through RSA's expressed willingness to provide mediation services.

It is also important to understand that geopolitically, RSA and Qatar are different players, as the Republic of South Africa aspires to regional and even global leadership. This is evident from its role in the African Union and its ambitions within BRICS – an association that, unfortunately, cannot be downplayed, as it continues to expand and more countries wish to be part of it. Moreover, RSA seeks a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and thus it is crucial for them to demonstrate their efforts in returning Ukrainian children, proving they can tackle such global issues. Furthermore, the fourth point of the Ukrainian peace formula, which includes the return of children, coincides with one of the points of the African Peace Initiative, presented a year ago during a mission visit from states on the continent to Kyiv. This suggests that RSA understands that as long as our children remain under Russian control, we cannot speak of a sustainable and just world.

The expert emphasized that ideally, RSA could facilitate obtaining complete data from Russia about the children who have been forcibly taken to its territory, deported, and are seeking their relatives. Another potential form of assistance could be an agreement on standardizing the return process, specifically logistics, the list of required documents, and the timelines for reviewing each individual case.

- It could also be agreed with the Russian Federation that children could be picked up not only by parents or their legal representatives but also by a designated person with authorization, who would accompany groups of children to Ukraine, where they would be handed over to their relatives, – says Ekaterina. – Often, the necessity to travel to Russia or temporarily occupied territories, associated with interrogations by the FSB and risks to life, hinders the return process. This is especially true for foster families who already have other children in their care, or when it comes to children deprived of parental care, as the people who could take them into their family are not always willing to undergo this process with filtering and so forth. Initially, documents must be processed according to Ukrainian legislation, followed by translation into Russian, and notarization. However, this does not guarantee recognition of legal representation by Russia.

Moreover, there have been cases where Ukrainian children, who were already imposed with Russian citizenship, were only accepted for guardianship by Russian citizens. In other words, relatives were required to obtain a Russian passport and go through the guardianship process according to Russian law. If they agree to this, the chances of returning to Ukraine become very slim, as Russian guardianship services will contact the border service and the FSB, and such a child simply will not be released. According to their legislation, they are responsible for the children and cannot allow them to return to Ukraine because there is a war, and so on. This is a dead end. In general, returning status children (orphans or children deprived of parental care – Ed.) is very difficult. Mediation services are also needed here.

Additionally, since Africa as a continent and the Republic of South Africa as a state have witnessed many crimes against humanity, war crimes, and atrocities, and some countries still remain in conflict, RSA has experience in the rehabilitation and integration of children affected by these events. In our case, this experience could be beneficial in the context of children who have undergone deportation and forced displacement. This is also one of the areas that should be developed in our cooperation, – the lawyer notes.

Political games can be played together

When establishing cooperation regarding the return of children, according to Ekaterina Rashevskaya, it is essential to consider the key differences in mentality, historical experience, and political views that Ukraine and RSA have. It is crucial to highlight what resonates with representatives of a country from another continent and could stimulate them to act actively.

- It is important for us that the topic of deported children, their re-education by Russians, and all the threats these processes pose remains consistently on the agenda in RSA, – says Ekaterina. – In this regard, the Republic of South Africa is our number one partner, they are very triggered by attacks on national identity, changes in citizenship, etc. During the colonial era, locals had their names changed to Catholic ones, and they feel very painfully about such matters. I witnessed an event where one participant was called John, and he replied that he had a different name, even though he was not black but an Afrikaner (a people in South Africa, including those whose ancestors migrated from Europe and settled in the southern regions of Africa — Ed.), meaning he is a descendant of colonizers. We must understand that RSA is a highly polarized society. The country recognizes 12 (!) official languages in its Constitution, and thus, there are even more ethnic groups plus Afrikaners, each with their own culture, traditions, and interests, so they understand better than anyone how important identity preservation is.

On the other hand, I have had many interviews, and occasionally journalists would ask something like, what do Ukrainians think about the conflict in Gaza, the suffering of the civilian population there, particularly children? I had to explain basic things, that due to constant attacks, Ukrainians are focused on survival, or they are so deeply traumatized by the loss of loved ones from these attacks that they simply have no opportunity, strength, or time to think about this conflict.

We must accept that RSA will always be on the side of Palestine, this is historically established. But this does not mean that Ukraine should change its position, which it has already adapted to this conflict, to please RSA. However, it means that we can leverage the RSA's preferred position of separating humanitarian issues and responsibility. That is, constantly reminding: look, Ukraine has sent humanitarian aid to Palestine, so support has reached the children of Gaza. Similarly, our country is willing to provide medications, but in terms of responsibility – we hold this position. Essentially, this is a complex political game, but we can do everything to play it together, – says the expert.

Ekaterina also noted that the number of children directly affected by the war in Ukraine, i.e., killed, injured, or maimed, as well as the number of deported and forcibly taken children to Russia, is not very convincing for RSA representatives.

- Unfortunately, they are not impressed by the fact that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, almost 600 Ukrainian children have been killed (according to official data — Ed.), and more than 1600 have been injured, – says the expert. – They will mention 10,000 killed in Gaza. Likewise, the 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly displaced to Russia do not impress them either. They think of 1.8 million refugee children from South Sudan. Therefore, speaking to RSA in terms of numbers is pointless. But specific human stories resonate with them. Here – brothers were separated, and there – a father had his children taken away, and