Statement by the delegation of Ukraine 

during 80th UNGA Third Committee during combined interactive dialogue under agenda item 67 “Promotion and protection of the rights of children” 

13 October 2025

Chair, 

Ukraine thanks all the briefers for presenting comprehensive reports and for their continued efforts to promote and protect the rights of children worldwide.

Ukraine, as a signatory to key international agreements on children’s rights, remains committed to strengthening child protection in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.

Its toll on Ukrainian children continues to grow. Since February 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has verified the deaths of at least 738 children and injuries to more than 2,300, with numbers rising daily as Russia intensifies missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Education has been severely disrupted. To date, more than 4,000 educational facilities across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed by shelling and bombing.

In Russian-occupied regions, children are subjected to systemic attempts to erase their identity. Ukrainian language, literature, and history have been removed from schools, replaced with Russian curricula glorifying the army and the war. Books are banned or burned, teachers coerced or replaced, and parents who resist face intimidation or risk losing custody of their children. Militarisation is central: children are recruited into “youth armies” and subjected to mandatory propaganda lessons.

Thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted and taken to Russia. Many are placed in camps, foster care, or adopted into Russian families—often with their names and documents changed. At least 210 sites across Russia and occupied Ukraine hold them, including monasteries, military schools, and orphanages. Investigations confirm a pipeline of abduction → re-education → militarisation, systematically stripping children of their Ukrainian identity.

Russia continues to obstruct repatriation, imposing conditions and delaying verification, while thousands of children, including orphans and those separated from their families remain trapped in Russia. These actions blatantly violate international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits altering the personal status of children during conflict and occupation.

Ukraine remains committed to protecting children and securing their return. During this High-Level Week, together with Canada, we held a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ukraine welcomes appointment of Ms. Vanessa Frazier as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. We strongly support the CAAC mandate and remain ready to continue constructive cooperation with her, her Office, and the UN country team through a Joint Prevention Plan, signed in 2023 and further extended.

The Secretary-General’s decision to retain the Russian armed forces in the annex of his annual report on Children and Armed Conflict for a third consecutive year is fully justified. Russia’s indiscriminate shelling continues to kill and injure children. In line with UN guidelines, we call on the Secretariat to suspend Russia’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations until its armed forces are delisted.

We commend UNICEF and all states providing aid, shelter, and education to Ukrainian children, and urge Member States to continue pressing for accountability and the safe return of every child.

We are especially grateful to SRSG Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid for her visit to Ukraine this past February and for providing comprehensive follow-up recommendations to strengthen childcare and enhance the protection of children from violence.

To end the suffering inflicted on Ukrainian children, the international community must unite and intensify efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and its children.

Thank you.