Russia –Ukraine conflict and reproductive technologies: protecting surrogate-born children from crimes against humanity and war crimes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/IESTSCIENTIA.2025.i01.06Palabras clave:
Niños, Gestación subrogada, Conflicto armado, Rusia‑UcraniaResumen
Este artículo analiza la situación de los niños nacidos mediante gestación subrogada en el contexto del conflicto armado Rusia‑Ucrania desde un enfoque complementario que integra el derecho internacional humanitario, los derechos humanos y el derecho penal internacional, a fin de evaluar los vacíos normativos que agravan su vulnerabilidad. Tras exponer los marcos jurídicos aplicables y sus brechas, el estudio muestra cómo el conflicto intensifica los riesgos de traslado forzoso, trata y adopción ilícita de estos menores. Con base en dicho análisis se tipifican las conductas que podrían constituir crímenes de lesa humanidad y crímenes de guerra conforme al Estatuto de Roma. Finalmente, el artículo presenta recomendaciones destinadas a subsanar la ausencia de medidas específicas en la Política sobre la Infancia de la Fiscalía de la CPI y aboga por una mayor atención y protección de este grupo vulnerable.
PALABRAS CLAVE:Niños, gestación subrogada, conflicto armado, Rusia‑Ucrania
Descargas
Citas
Appleton, S. F. (1990). Surrogacy arrangements and the conflict of laws. Wisconsin Law Review, 1990(2), 399–464.
Bethlehem, D. (2013). The relationship between international humanitarian law and international human rights law in situations of armed conflict. Cambridge International Law Journal, 2(2), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.4337/cilj.2013.02.03
Bromfield, N. F., & Rotabi, K. S. (2014). Global surrogacy, exploitation, human rights and international private law: A pragmatic stance and policy recommendations. Global Social Welfare, 1(3), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-014-0015-4
Correa da Silva, W. (2023). La protección del interés superior de la persona menor nacida en supuestos de maternidad subrogada. Revista de Derecho Internacional, 20(2), 421–426. https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v20i2.9099
Droege, C. (2007). The interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law in situations of armed conflict. Israel Law Review, 40(2), 310–355. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002122370001342X
Everingham, S. G., & Whittaker, A. (2023). Trends in engagement in surrogacy by nationality 2018–2020: A survey of surrogacy agencies. Global Reproductive Health, 8(1), e64. https://doi.org/10.1097/GRH.0000000000000064
Govender, N. (2024). Through the lens of the ICJ: Bridging the gap between human rights and humanitarian norms in the legal protection for child soldiers. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 27(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2024/v27i1a16269
Hampson, F. J. (2008). The relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law from the perspective of a human rights treaty body. International Review of the Red Cross, 90(871), 549–572. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383108000439
Horsey, K. (2024). The future of surrogacy: A review of current global trends and national landscapes. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 48(5), Article 103764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.103764
Jacobson, H., König, A., & Majumdar, A. (2024). Im/mobility in the transnational surrogacy market: Disruptions and vulnerabilities in and beyond pandemic times. Applied Mobilities, 9(4), 301–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/23800127.2024.2306934
Kismödi, E., & Pitchforth, E. (2022). Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice in the war against Ukraine 2022. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 30(1), 2052459. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2022.2052459
König, A. (2023). Reproductive entanglements in times of war: Transnational gestational surrogacy in Ukraine and beyond. Medical Anthropology, 42(5), 479–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2023.2249917
Lamberton, E. (2020). Lessons from Ukraine: Shifting international surrogacy policy to protect women and children. Journal of Public & International Affairs. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://bit.ly/3IvHKL3
Marinelli, S., Del Rio, A., Straccamore, M., Negro, F., & Basile, G. (2022). The armed conflict in Ukraine and the risks of inter-country surrogacy: The unsolved dilemma. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 26(16), 6006–6010. Retrieved March 15, 2025 from https://iris.uniroma1.it/retrieve/handle/11573/1653022/1933254/6006-6010.pdf
Moskalenko, K. (2023). The legal framework on surrogacy in Ukraine: Quo vadis? International Comparative Jurisprudence, 9(2), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.13165/j.icj.2023.02.005
Pardo, M. (2023). La adopción ilegal y la gestación subrogada como finalidades del delito de trata de seres humanos. Anales de Derecho, 41(2), Art. 538701. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesderecho.538701
Piersanti, V., Consalvo, F., Signore, F., & Del Rio, A. (2021). Surrogacy and “procreative tourism”: What does the future hold from the ethical and legal perspectives? Medicina, 57(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57010047
Petit de Gabriel, E. W. (2022). Separated minors or the dilemma between general and individual interest in European Union migration law compliance. Cuadernos Europeos de Deusto, (6), 95–97. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.2585
Qi, Q., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., & Wang, M. (2023). The status of surrogacy in China. BioScience Trends. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.5582/bst.2022-01263
Rotabi, K. S., Bromfield, N. F., & Campbell, K. (2017). Regulating commercial global surrogacy: The best interests of the child. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 2(3), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-017-0035-4
Sharma, A. (2023). Commercial surrogacy in India: An overview. Supremo Amicus, 32, 158–170.
Simma, B., & Pulkowski, D. (2006). Of planets and the universe: Self-contained regimes in international law. European Journal of International Law, 17(3), 483–529. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chl014
Stark, B. (2011). Transnational surrogacy and international human rights law. ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, 18, 369–388
Syroid, T., & Fomina, L. (2023). Approaches to understanding the concept of vulnerability: International legal aspect. Journal of International Legal Communication, 9(1), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.32612/uw.27201643.2023.9.pp.7-15
Institutional documents and technical reports
American Bar Association. (2019). Trauma resulting from family separation. Retrieved May 13, 2025 from https://www.americanbar.org/
Caritas Ukraine. (2024). Statement of Caritas Ukraine on child trafficking during war. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/constructive_dialogues/TiP_2024/Statements/Caritas_Ukraine.pdf
National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2015). Children with traumatic separation: Information for professionals. Retrieved April 4, 2025 from https://www.nctsn.org/sites/
Raymond, N., Hathaway, O., Howard, C., & Hoshnood, K. (2024). Russia’s program of coerced adoption and fostering of Ukraine’s children. Humanitarian Research Lab, Yale School of Public Health. Retrieved March 6, 2025 from https://medicine.yale.edu/
Society for Research in Child Development. (2018). The science is clear: Separating families has long-term damaging psychological and health consequences for children, families, and communities. Retrieved March 15, 2025 from https://www.srcd.org
UNICEF. (2022). Key considerations: Children’s rights & surrogacy. Retrieved May 15, 2025 from https://bit.ly/42YJZi3
UNICEF. (2022, March 19). Children fleeing war in Ukraine are at heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation. Retrieved May 15, 2025 from https://bit.ly/3Iy1Vrw
Hird, K. (2025). Putin is still stealing Ukrainian children: Institute for the Study of War Special Report. Retrieved March 15, 2025 from https://understandingwar.org
Hird, K., Kagan, F. W., Stepanenko, K., & Barros, G. (2022, August 23). Russian offensive campaign assessment, 23 August 2022. Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved March 15, 2025 from https://bit.ly/3q0VWoT
News and journalistic articles
Belton, C., & Korolchuk, S. (2025, March 27). Trump reverses termination of program tracking mass child abductions in Ukraine. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2025 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/
Chung, C. (2022, March 11). Parents relying on Ukraine surrogates desperately seek their newborns. The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2025 from https://www.nytimes.com
De Witte, M. (2018, June 26). The psychological impact of early life stress and parental separation. Stanford News. Retrieved March 3, 2025 from https://news.stanford.edu/2018/
Ferguson, D. (2022, March 10). ‘Will the babies be left in a war zone?’: The terrified Ukrainian surrogates – and the parents waiting for their children. The Guardian. Retrieved March 16, 2025 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/will-the-babies-be-left-in-a-war-zone-the-terrified-ukrainian-surrogates-and-the-parents-waiting-for-their-children
Khoshnood, K. (2023, February 14). Russia’s systematic program for the re-education and adoption of Ukraine’s children. Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health. Retrieved March 1, 2025, from https://bit.ly/3WG4fTz
Tondo, L., & Mazhulin, A. (2023, July 26). ‘The bombs won’t stop us’: Business brisk at Ukraine’s surrogacy clinics. The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2025 from https://www.theguardian.com
Monographic books
Correa da Silva, W. (2022). Maternidad subrogada: Derechos humanos, vulnerabilidad y explotación (pp. 1–240). Thomson Reuters/Aranzadi.
Trimmings, K., & Beaumont, P. (Eds.). (2013). International surrogacy arrangements: Legal regulation at the international level. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Villegas Delgado, C. A. (2022). Crímenes de lesa humanidad en el siglo XXI: Avances y retrocesos de la justicia penal internacional. Tirant lo Blanch México.
Descargas
Publicado
Cómo citar
Número
Sección
Licencia
Derechos de autor 2025 Iraida Giménez, Español
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0.
Aquellos autores/as que tengan publicaciones con esta revista, aceptan los términos siguientes:- Los autores/as conservarán sus derechos de autor y garantizarán a la revista el derecho de primera publicación de su obra, el cuál estará simultáneamente sujeto a la Licencia de reconocimiento de Creative Commons que permite a terceros compartir la obra siempre que se indique su autor y su primera publicación esta revista.
- Los autores/as podrán adoptar otros acuerdos de licencia no exclusiva de distribución de la versión de la obra publicada (p. ej.: depositarla en un archivo telemático institucional o publicarla en un volumen monográfico) siempre que se indique la publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Se permite y recomienda a los autores/as difundir su obra a través de Internet (p. ej.: en archivos telemáticos institucionales o en su página web) antes y durante el proceso de envío, lo cual puede producir intercambios interesantes y aumentar las citas de la obra publicada. (Véase El efecto del acceso abierto).
