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Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN H.E. Mr. Sergíy Kyslytsya at the open debate of the UN Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict (26 June 2024)

President,

I thank the Republic of Korea presidency for convening this important debate and the briefers for their remarks. 

I also recognize the continued occupation of the seat of the Soviet Union by the dictator’s envoy.

As a proud representative of a state that on this day, June 26, 79 years ago in San Francisco, signed the UN Charter, I avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate all Member States, except Russia, on this anniversary. 

All but Russia, because Russia is a fare-dodger and a vandal here. Never has it either signed and ratified the Charter or adhered to its provisions. As publicly acknowledged by the then USSR and later on the Russian envoy to the UN, the whole process seemed in 1991 to be a simple change of a country name plate. But this apparent simplicity in letting Russia occupy a permanent seat triggered an entire chain of violations and horrors of war, including crimes against children.

The thematic report we are discussing today presents an alarmingly bleak picture of the situation for children, with the highest number of grave violations ever recorded. This reality stands in stark contrast to our common determination embedded in the UN Charter “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” It is also not the present or future we desire for our children and those to come. 

We extend our appreciation to SRSG Gamba and her Office, UNICEF, and all child protection organizations for their invaluable work. Ukraine commends the cooperation established with SRSG and her Office, including with the implementation of the Joint Preventive Action Plan. We reiterate our standing invitation for SRSG to visit Ukraine and our full support for the CAAC mandate. 

It is just one day that the Security Council allocated to address the heinous and horrifying crimes against children that SRSG Gamba has briefed about. She and her team deal with these crimes every day. They deserve our full support, not only moral one but also with all the necessary resources required to ensure full and effective implementation of the CAAC mandate. 

President,

Russia’s aggression has had catastrophic consequences for children in Ukraine: according to the Ukrainian prosecutors, at least 1389 children have been wounded and 551 killed. The figures are not final as work is continuing to establish numbers in the areas temporarily occupied by Russia. 1895 children have gone missing during the hostilities. 15 cases of sexual violence against minors have been recorded. 

According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, to date almost 4 thousand (!) educational institutions across Ukraine have suffered bombing and shelling, - and 365 of them have been destroyed completely. 

Nearly 20 thousand Ukrainian children have been forcefully transferred or deported to the Russian Federation or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia is obstructing the repatriation process by imposing additional conditions and hindering verification procedures, therefore returning our children remains a highly complex but critical challenge that we, together with our partners, spare no efforts to address. To date, only 736 have been repatriated.

President,

We welcome the decision of the UN Secretary-General to keep the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on the list of grave violators for the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals. The Russian Federation has not only failed to take appropriate preventive measures but has also significantly increased the intensity of shelling of civilian infrastructure and densely populated areas across Ukraine. 

In this regard, we urge the UN and especially the SRSG for CAAC to demand that the Russian Federation fulfill all its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in particular by providing access to and ensuring the safe return of all abducted Ukrainian children.

The only root cause, I repeat, the only root cause of children’s sufferings is the unjustifiable war of aggression, launched by Russia. If the dictator’s envoy truly cares about the fate of children, it is his duty to provide his boss with full information about the SG Report and to convey the common message of the wide membership – to stop the war. 

As Russia persists so far in its desire to wipe my country out of the Earth, Ukraine has the legitimate right to hit all military targets on the territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territories. And, quoting the dictator’s envoy, “if the air-defense systems had not operated, then there would not have been victims among civilians at all” there.  

Ukraine is striving for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on the UN Charter. We seek such peace for our children, whose normal childhoods have been shattered by relentless Russian bombardments, missiles, and drones. We urge all those who have not yet joined to actively engage and contribute to the process of the implementation of the Peace Formula.

Thank you.