Norway increases support for deported Ukrainian children

OSLO, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Norway is increasing its support for humanitarian efforts to help deported Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war through UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Nordic country said on Tuesday.

• Funds will help trace missing persons, support efforts to bring more people home and assist with rehabilitation and reintegration

• Seeking to draw attention to human rights violations perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine, Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said in a statement

• Says many Ukrainian children are currently in Russia after being unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred there

• Says 15 million crowns ($1.6 million) earmarked for UNICEF work to support the reintegration of children who have returned to Ukraine and to trace missing children

• Another 10 million crowns allocated to the ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency Bureau (CTA)

• Canada this week hosts a ministerial conference on the topic in Toronto, co-hosted by Norway and Ukraine

($1 = 9.5108 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto)