Statement 

by Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine 

Ms. Khrystyna Hayovyshyn

at the general debate of the Third Committee 

of the 80^th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

(7 October 2025)

Chair,

Ukraine remains firmly committed to the United Nations’ mission of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and non-discriminatory. We believe that the UN’s three mutually reinforcing pillars—peace and security, development, and human rights - form the essential foundation for a more just, prosperous, and peaceful world.

We fully support the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in addressing violations worldwide, including those perpetrated by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. We also emphasize the crucial role of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms in combating impunity.

In this regard, the work of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine is indispensable. Its mandate to investigate, document, and establish the facts of violations of human rights and IHL committed during Russia’s ongoing invasion is vital to ensuring justice and accountability. Therefore, we call for ensuring adequate funding for the work of this Commission.

Chair,

Russia continues relentless attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, erasing Ukrainian towns and villages. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, in August alone short-range drone strikes caused 58 deaths and 272 injuries, with most casualties near the frontline in Donetsk and Kherson. At the same time, Russia has increased long-range strikes far from the frontline, including in 2025.

On 22 September, COI reported that Russian drone strikes deliberately targeted civilians and infrastructure in southern Ukraine, rendering communities uninhabitable. Attacks in Kherson were deemed systematic killings – crimes against humanity – with similar patterns in Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Drones tracked victims in real time, struck ambulances, and forced mass displacement, which the Commission also classified as crimes against humanity.

These actions not only devastate millions of Ukrainians but also have consequences far beyond borders of our country. Daily, indiscriminate missile and drone attacks kill civilians, destroy homes, violate fundamental rights, including the right to life, liberty, health, education, and security.

Torture and execution of prisoners of war, arbitrary detention of civilians, and destruction of medical and educational facilities constitute further war crimes and crimes against humanity.

OHCHR has presented new evidence of widespread, systematic torture of Ukrainian civilians and POWs by Russian authorities. The Commission of Inquiry previously concluded that such acts follow consistent, coordinated patterns and amount to crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, over 280 political prisoners remain in Russian custody, 157 of them Crimean Tatars, held in inhumane conditions without adequate medical care. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, among them POWs and civilians, remain in captivity, underscoring the urgent need for international action to secure their release.

To ensure continued, objective, and credible monitoring of the human rights situation in the territories of Ukraine under temporary occupation by Russia, the delegation of Ukraine will present an updated draft of the annual resolution titled “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.” We call on all Member States to support this initiative.

Chair,

At least 655 Ukrainian children have been killed, over 2,100 injured, and millions endure displacement, trauma, and disrupted education. Thousands of abducted children remain in Russian Federation or occupied territories, where they face indoctrination, forced citizenship, adoption, and “russification.” These acts blatantly violate international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Ukraine remains committed to protecting children and securing their return. At this High-Level Week, Ukraine and Canada convened the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Mark Carney. We also maintain close cooperation with the SRSG CAAC and the UN country team through a Joint Prevention Plan, signed in 2023 and 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 cause child casualties. In line with UN guidelines, as Russian armed forces are listed, we call on the Secretariat to suspend Russia’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

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

Chair,

Ukraine strongly condemns all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, and remains committed to eradicating them wherever they occur.

It is the height of hypocrisy for the aggressor state, the Russian Federation to table a resolution against the very ideology it embodies in its war of aggression against Ukraine. By committing horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity, Russia has forfeited any right to present itself as a global opponent of Nazism and should not be recognized as such by the wider international community. Its manipulation of the resolution under the guise of combating neo-Nazism is a only an attempt to justify brutal invasion and atrocities Russia commits against a sovereign nation.

Chair,

Russia’s deliberate targeting of ports and grain facilities obstructs food supplies to vulnerable populations worldwide, cynically weaponizing hunger.

The scale of these crimes underscores the urgent need for accountability.

Russia’s war has created a grave human rights crisis. It is therefore essential to maintain an independent, effective human rights monitoring presence. Ukraine’s cooperation with OHCHR, and our strong support for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, reflect our shared commitment to preventing abuses, documenting violations, and ensuring accountability.

Thank you, and I now pass the floor to our Youth Delegate.