The purpose of the trip was to analyse the level of protection of the rights and legitimate interests of minors residing in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation in various spheres of life and to gain familiarity with the work of the local children's institutions, as well as to provide assistance as part of the Commissioner’s humanitarian drive Into the Hands of Children.
While in the Lugansk People's Republic, Maria Lvova-Belova convened a meeting with the heads of the LPR agencies in charge of childhood-related matters, visited the Krasnodon orphanage which she gifted with household appliances and equipment, and gave food packages, medications, toys and essential supplies to 25 large families.
During her trip to the Donetsk People's Republic, the Commissioner met with Acting Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin and updated him on the lives of children from the region’s social institutions who were placed with Russian foster families. They agreed to provide assistance in placing under guardianship 18 more minors, whose siblings now live in the Moscow Region. On a separate note, they discussed the construction in the DPR of a new rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities and children who were injured during the hostilities. Maria Lvova-Belova focused particularly on supporting the families of mobilised citizens.
The protection of the rights and interests of minors was discussed in more detail at a meeting with the heads of the Republic’s relevant ministries and agencies.
In Khartsyzsk, the Commissioner for Children's Rights visited a teenage centre which will open early next year. It is being created by the Life Without Borders charity foundation with funds from the Presidential Grants Foundation and with support from the Federal Centre for Developing Teenager Socialisation Programmes.
In addition, the Commissioner visited several social institutions in the DPR and gave humanitarian aid packages to the children staying there, as well as families with children from Khartsyzsk, Donetsk and Mariupol.
In Melitopol, Maria Lvova-Belova held a meeting with the heads of the regional executive authorities of the Zaporozhye Region, including the ministries of education, healthcare, labour and social policy, to discuss the most pressing issues of ensuring children’s rights that can be addressed with the federal centre’s support.
In Zaporozhye, the Commissioner visited a hospital and an orphanage, where she talked to the children and staff, presented the children with gifts purchased with the funds raised during the Into the Hands of Children humanitarian drive.
In Genichesk, the Commissioner chaired a meeting with representatives of the Kherson Region’s relevant agencies to discuss ongoing social assistance for children from this region, including the urgent evacuation of 52 children with severe health problems from an orphanage near the front line. With the assistance of the Russian Healthcare Ministry, the children were transferred to a safe place.
The creation in the region of an orphanage for minors left without parental care was another priority. All orphanages are located in the areas of hostilities, so a children's hospital was used to accommodate the children. Maria Lvova-Belova visited it as part of her trip. The Commissioner also visited a boarding school for children with respiratory tract ailments.