Justice for Ukrainian Youth (JFY): Investigation and prosecution of Russia’s war crimes Against Ukrainian Children (2024-2025)

The goals of the JFY program are to protect Ukrainian children by providing critical support for Ukrainian criminal justice professionals to detect, investigate, and prosecute war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian youth; to raise awareness about the importance of justice, the rule of law, human rights, and the legal consequences of war crimes; and to build resiliency within communities.

This initiative has been developed in consultation with the Department for Children’s Rights and Countering Domestic Violence of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (OPG) and the Juvenile Prevention Administration of the National Police of Ukraine (NPU). Five pilot sites will be selected for the program in collaboration with OPG, NPU, and INL. Current recommendations from OPG and NPU include Bucha (Kyiv Oblast), Bolhrad (Odesa Oblast), Lviv, Chernihiv (Chernihiv Oblast), and Kropyvnytsky (Kirovohrad Oblast). JFY will coordinate with other relevant OPG initiatives, including the established OPG advisory body, the International Council of Experts on Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict, and the OPG project Community Prosecutor, which started in 2023. The program’s duration is 18 months.