United Nations Security Council

Annual Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict

Intervention by the Delegation of Ukraine 

24 June 2026

Madam President,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Colombian Presidency for convening this annual Open Debate.

We also thank Secretary-General, António Guterres, and his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, for the new report, which paints an extremely grim picture.

Violations against children in armed conflict have reached the highest level since the creation of the CAAC mandate thirty years ago.

More children are being killed, maimed, abducted, recruited, raped, and denied humanitarian assistance than ever before in history.

When this mandate was established, we all hoped that greater attention, robust monitoring, and accountability would gradually reduce the suffering of children affected by wars.

Instead, the situation has become truly catastrophic.

And Russia and its armed forces are among the main drivers of this disaster.

The SG report documents Russia’s new sad record of crimes against Ukrainian children across the entire spectrum of grave violations.

The figures we see are not just alarming. They are truly hair-raising.

The numbers of Russia’s crimes against children are so shocking that they send a chill down the spine.

What is even worse: Russia demonstrates zero intention of ending these crimes.

The report marks the fourth consecutive year in which the Russian armed forces have been blacklisted as systematic violators of children’s rights.

They share this special “distinction” of barbarism with such gangs of murderers as Al-Qaida, Hamas, Daesh, or the Taliban — among the most brutal perpetrators of atrocities against children in the history of humankind.

What a shame! What a disgrace!

Moreover, Russia appears to take pride in being blacklisted in this ignominious company; it shows no readiness to elaborate an action plan for delisting.

Nor has it engaged with the United Nations in genuinely seeking to change this inglorious behavior.

Instead, Russia’s representative continues to shamelessly deny all the verified facts, while accusing the Secretary-General and his Special Representative of bias.

Russia’s actions not only damage the last remnants of its standing in the international community; they discredit the Security Council itself, undermining its credibility.

Madam President,

Russia’s double blacklisting as a party that commits grave violations affecting children in armed conflict, as well as sexual violence, must lead to consequences.

In this regard, we recall the Secretary-General’s 2015 report on the future of UN peace operations and his appeal that — and I quote:

“State parties repeatedly listed in my annual reports on children and armed conflict will henceforth not be accepted for participation in United Nations peace operations … Failure to cease systematic violations and implement action plans expeditiously will result in their suspension from peace operations.” End quote.

Let me also recall that Security Council resolutions 2427 and 2467 subsequently endorsed this SG determination, providing a clear legal basis for action.

So what we have are four consecutive listings of Russia without a single meaningful corrective step.

Isn’t it sufficient to trigger accountability?

Madam President,

Ukraine highly values its close cooperation with the SG Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier.

We firmly reject Russia’s cynical attacks on her person and her crucial work. We praise the personal engagement of Under-Secretary-General Frazier on issues of Russia’s war crimes against Ukrainian children and her recent visit to Kyiv.

We hope that she will play a decisive role in implementing the General Assembly resolution on the return of Ukrainian children.

More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been identified as deported or forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation.

Only 2,311 have so far been returned — just 11 per cent. At the same time, approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children have become hostages of Russia’s brutal occupation. Their destiny is to endure a living hell on earth. These Ukrainian children are exposed to systematic indoctrination, re-education, militarization, and changes to their legal status.

But the worst crime that Russia is committing is the erosion of their Ukrainian identity. This is not just a crime against humanity; it is a crime with a genocidal nature.

Madam President,

To conclude, I call upon the members of the Council not just to condemn Russia’s atrocities against Ukrainian children. It is time to show Russia a red card and ostracize it as a pariah state that does not deserve to sit at this table.

I thank you.