Kiev has right to demand return of draft dodgers – UN

 from RT

Ukraine has the right to demand the return of male refugees who are evading the draft, UN official Philippe Leclerc has argued. He added that military mobilization in Ukraine does not constitute persecution, meaning legal protection for draftees can theoretically be reviewed.

Kiev declared general mobilization in February 2022, barring eligible men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Nevertheless, thousands have managed to flee illegally since then, with that number allegedly on the rise in recent months.

In December, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that the military leadership had proposed calling up an additional 450,000-500,000 people. The country’s parliament is currently deliberating on a new mobilization law.

Appearing at a press conference via video link on Tuesday, Leclerc, who serves as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regional director for Europe, said Ukraine “has every right to mobilize its population,” including “refugees of fighting age residing abroad.”..

read more here