International Human Rights Task Force
The Task Force brings together prosecutors, jurists, clinicians and researchers working on the human consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine. Its work is carried out through three expert working groups and addresses:
- Reunification of Ukrainian children with their families
- Identifying best practices in trauma treatment, especially for children
- Support for Prisoners of War (POWs)
- Support for victims of conflict-related sexual violence and human trafficking
- Advocacy for justice through continued sanctions and a Special Tribunal
Membership as of November 2026
Children in Oleshky · Policy Brief, October 2026. A child still under the physical and informational control of an occupying force cannot make a free and informed choice about their future. The brief sets out the clinical, developmental and legal evidence, and the safeguards any evacuation must carry — independent monitoring, a stabilization and information period, family tracing and an independent best-interests assessment.
Lessons from Oleshky · Follow-up Brief, November 2026. The evacuation brought hundreds of people out of a besieged, occupied town — a real humanitarian achievement — yet for children the process still fell short of the October safeguards: the choice was made under Russian control, with no independent monitor involved. A review of what worked, what did not, and what must change if this model is repeated.
Irwin Cotler
Former Minister of Justice of Canada
Carl Gershman
Founding President of the National Endowment for Democracy
Nadia K. McConnell
President and Co-founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Pursuing a legal path to accountability for the crime of aggression and for crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians.
David M. Crane
Founding Chief Prosecutor, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone; Founder, Global Accountability Network
Irwin Cotler
Former Minister of Justice of Canada
Amb. Hans Corell
Former Legal Advisor, United Nations
Justice Richard Goldstone
Former Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY and ICTR
Inna Liniova
Director, Human Rights Center, Ukrainian Bar Association
Amb. David Scheffer
Former Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, U.S. Department of State
Bringing clinicians and survivor-support organizations together around care for those carrying the war's psychological weight.
Iuliia Osmolovska
Head of the GLOBSEC Kyiv Office
Bonnie Carroll
President and Founder, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
Mitzi Perdue
Journalist, war correspondent, philanthropist, anti-human trafficking advocate
Nata Chernyshova
TAPS Ukraine
Yuliia Dmytrova
TAPS Ukraine
Mandy Bostwick
Clinical Director, Trauma Assist International (UK)
Dr. Eric Trupin
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Washington
Svitlana Diedova
Head of DC Office, Center for Strategic Initiatives and Assistance; Psychologist
Viktor Dlugunovych
Clinical psychologist; researcher specializing in the long-term psychological impacts of war
Helary Rakete-Yakub, Ph.D.
Political scientist; researcher specializing in trauma and violent extremism
Documenting the deportation of Ukrainian children and pressing for their identification, return and reunification.
Karolina Hird
National Security Fellow, Institute for the Study of War
Dr. Kristina Hook
Assistant Professor of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development, Kennesaw State University
Paige Farrenkopf
Children's Team Lead, Yale Humanitarian Research Lab
Shelby Magid
Deputy Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council
Christina Tershakovec
Chair, National Advocacy Committee, UNWLA
Irene Jarosewich
WFUWO Main Representative to UN DGC/CSU
The International Human Rights Task Force is an initiative of the Friends of Ukraine Network, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.