UN exposes Moscow’s child abductions, demands their immediate return
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UN General Assembly (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo)
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately return all forcibly deported Ukrainian children at its session on Dec. 3.
The document requires Russia to ensure the immediate, safe, and unconditional return of Ukrainian children who were illegally transferred or deported.
The General Assembly also calls on the aggressor state to cease any practice of forcibly relocating children, separating them from their families or legal guardians, changing their personal status, including citizenship, and arranging adoptions or placement in foster families.
The resolution was supported by 91 countries. Twelve states voted against it, including Russia, Belarus, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea, while another 57 countries abstained, with China and India among them.
Presenting the document, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Maryana Betsa stressed that this resolution is not about politics, but first and foremost about humanity and the moral duty of the international community.
She highlighted that Russia’s war against Ukraine has made children the most vulnerable target of aggression as the enemy is not only killing and maiming children, but also trying to erase their national identity.
In June, a team of researchers at Yale University (USA) found that Russia may be holding around 35,000 Ukrainian children who are considered missing. Some of them have been adopted by Russian families, others sent to military camps or placed in institutions.
Ukraine has confirmed the illegal removal of more than 19,000 children to Russia. The aggressor state routinely denies this, claiming it is only about “hundreds” of children.
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