Violation of children's rights through ideology, patriotism, and educational policy: opinion of human rights defenders and analysts
On June 27, the violations of the rights of Belarusian and Ukrainian children in Belarus were discussed at the information center of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Katsiaryna Dzeikala, a representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Artsiom Brukhan, an expert analyst at the National Anti-Crisis Management, and Volha Vialichka, a psychologist from the Doctors for Truth and Justice, took part in the event. Deputy of the Lithuanian Seimas, member of the National Security and Defense Committee Dovilė Šakalienė made a speech to welcome human rights defenders, experts, and journalists.
Artsiom Brukhan: "The work on documenting crimes against Ukrainian children continues"
Artsiom Brukhan, an analyst at the National Anti-Crisis Management, spoke about documenting violations of the rights of Ukrainian children, including orphans, who were illegally moved from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus during 2021–2023.
With the help of the funds of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and the active assistance of its Secretary of State Dzmitry Mezintsau, 2,150 children were relocated in this way. It was found out that they were housed in the health resorts Zalatyja Piaski and Volma and the health camps Zubronak and Dubrava, owned by the Belaruskali association.
The program for the relocation of Ukrainian children, approved by Aliaksandr Lukashenka, is nothing more than their abduction.
Artsiom Brukhan calls the foundation of Aliaksei Talai, Volha Volkova, a representative of Delfin Foundation, and the Russian occupation authorities of Donetsk, Luhansk, Cherkasy, and Kherson regions participants of the forcible removal of children.
The role of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), which was involved in the indoctrination of children, was also revealed. All of them promoted anti-Ukrainian pro-Kremlin propaganda to erase the national identity of Ukrainian children and re-educate them. For these actions, BRSM was recently included in the "sanctions list".
Dovilė Šakalienė, Volha Vialichka, and Katsiaryna Dzeikala.
"Educational policy and patriotism" as a tool of repression
Katsiaryna Dzeikala, representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, emphasized the violation of the rights of children who remain in Belarus.
The Belarusian authorities use educational policy as a tool of repression. Through it, the state actively influences children's consciousness, using ideological education, "patriotism", and justification of war to serve the regime. The situation worsened after the events of 2020, and then after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"The original meaning of patriotism has been substituted. Now it is not just love for Belarus, but first of all an indicator of loyalty to the existing government," says Katsiaryna Dzeikala, noting the increased participation of law enforcement officers and representatives of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in the educational process.
The researcher reported that the contents of textbooks and curricula now has to be approved by law enforcement agencies, including the KGB. Propaganda and militaristic events are held in educational institutions, and lecturers justify the war and form the image of the enemy. Often, the ideology of the "Russian World" dominates mandatory school events.
Katsiaryna Dzeikala says that another problem is discrediting of the national symbols and a condemnation of all Belarusian. The white-red-white flag and the Pahonia coat of arms are now called fascist, and when talking about the genocide of the Belarusian people during World War II, they compare fascists with the protesters of 2020.
"Parents are threatened with their children, and children are threatened with their parents"
Psychologist Volha Vialichka spoke about the great damage to the child's psyche caused by the increasing interference of the state not only in the educational process, but also in the Belarusian family.
"Parents are threatened with their children, and children are threatened with their parents," says Volha Vialichka. "Only during 2023, 11,530 families were registered as being in a 'socially dangerous situation', which is 23,700 children. Such actions indicate that the state will continue to interfere in education. But it is our descendants who will pay for the consequences."
She also noted another trend: the entire education system is now built in such a way as to teach children to stop thinking critically, independently, and this will have serious aftermath in the future.
At the end of the conference, there was a presentation of Volha Vialichka's book From 2 to 15. My Mom is in Jail. The book contains children's memories of the persecution that affected their family, as well as their dreams and fairy tales that they wrote to survive the trauma. The author also provides recommendations on how to talk with children about politics.
