The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 3, calling on the Russian Federation to immediately return all illegally transported Ukrainian children to Ukraine. The decision was made during an extraordinary session of the General Assembly.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Support and Opposition to the Resolution
The document was supported by representatives from 91 countries, while 12 voted against it, and 57 countries abstained from voting. Among the countries that opposed the resolution were Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, Eritrea, Niger, Russia, and Sudan.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia thanked the international community for its support and specifically addressed the countries that voted against:
“Thank you for your support! And what a shameful dozen!”
Content of the UN Resolution and Official Data
The text of the resolution states that the UN General Assembly “expresses regret” regarding the practice of forced relocation and deportation of Ukrainian children, as well as any attempts to change their personal status, including through adoption or indoctrination. The document states:
“The General Assembly… demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe, and unconditional return of Ukrainian children who have been illegally relocated or deported; calls on the Russian Federation to immediately cease any further practices of forced relocation, deportation, separation of children from their families and legal guardians, and changing personal status, including through citizenship, adoption, or placement in foster families and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.”
According to official data from Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale war, over 20,000 Ukrainian children have found themselves in Russia or occupied regions. Meanwhile, the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, cited an estimate that Russia has illegally transported about 150,000 children from Ukraine. The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Children’s Rights, Daria Gerasimchuk, previously noted that the total number of abducted children could range from 200,000 to 300,000.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of committing war crimes, including forced deportations and relocations of children from occupied territories of Ukraine.
Maria Lvova-Belova stated in July 2023 that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has “accepted” about 4.8 million residents of Ukraine, of which over 700,000 are children. According to her, most of them allegedly arrived with their parents or relatives.