Statement in explanation of vote

by the Delegation of Ukraine

on draft resolution of the UN General Assembly A/80/L.64 entitled 

“Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum”

(20 May 2026)

Madam President, 

Ukraine voted in favour of the draft resolution adopting the Progress Declaration of the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).

We express our sincere appreciation to His Excellency Ekitela Lokaale, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations, and His Excellency Olivier Maes, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations, for their able facilitation of the intergovernmental negotiations on this document.

At the same time, Ukraine would like to recall its statement delivered on 8 May 2026 at the adoption of the Progress Declaration of the second International Migration Review Forum. We are of the view that the text of the Declaration does not fully address the security-related causes of migration, in particular the large-scale forced displacement of people resulting from armed aggression, international armed conflicts and occupation of territories.

For Ukraine, these factors are of fundamental importance, as the Russian Federation’s full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine has caused a massive forced displacement of more than 5.8 million Ukrainian citizens abroad, increased their social vulnerability and complicated the exercise of their rights and access to services.

Russia’s war of aggression underscored the need to maintain sustainable ties between such citizens and Ukraine, as well as to create conditions for their voluntary return to their previous places of residence or for their integration into new places of residence within Ukraine.

In this context, we believe that migration governance frameworks should better reflect and address the specific consequences of armed conflicts and forced displacement caused by violations of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Thank you.