The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Russia to "immediately and safely" return Ukrainian children.
Kyiv • UNN
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that the Russian Federation immediately return all illegally deported Ukrainian children. The document was supported by 91 countries, 57 abstained, and 12 opposed it.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly supported a resolution demanding that Russia immediately and unconditionally return all illegally removed Ukrainian children. This was reported by UNN with reference to the broadcast of the meeting of the General Assembly and the text of the resolution.
The General Assembly… demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully displaced or deported; calls on the Russian Federation to immediately cease any further practice of forced displacement, deportation, separation of children from families and legal guardians, alteration of personal status, including through citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
91 countries voted for the document, 57 abstained, and 12 voted against. In addition to Russia, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cuba, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, and Sudan voted against.
Among those who abstained were China, India, and Brazil.
The resolution recognizes Russia's actions as a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
As explained by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mariana Betsa during the presentation of the document, this resolution is not about politics, but exclusively about humanity and the moral duty of the international community.
She emphasized that Russia's war against Ukraine has made children the most vulnerable target of aggression. According to the diplomat, Russia not only kills and maims children but also tries to erase their identity.
Betsa stressed that in the occupied territories and in Russia, Ukrainian children are forbidden from their native language, literature, and history, and instead are subjected to hostile propaganda. Children are forced to repeat fakes about a "Nazi state" and are also involved in so-called "children's armies" where they are subjected to "military training and ideological processing."
Recall
About 1.6 million Ukrainian children are under Russia's control, which blocks all evacuation routes. Ukraine does not have a complete picture of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories, but Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova reported cases of sexual violence and torture of children by Russian troops.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has returned more than 1,600 children illegally taken to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes the need for international support to return about 19,500 children who are estimated to still be in the Russian Federation.