Ukraine’s UN envoy: Kyiv, UN work together to investigate Russian crimes against children

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Aug. 24 that just as the first ICC arrest warrant for Russian president was issued in relation to the forced deportation of children, the first Nuremberg verdict against Nazi leaders also concerned crimes against children.

Kyslytsya stressed that since February 2022, the Russian authorities have repeatedly said that they have transferred over 700,000 children from Ukraine to Russia, where many have been adopted by Russian families.

More than 19,500 children have been identified by the Ukrainian government as having been forcibly deported. Three hundred eighty-six of them have been brought back to Ukraine.
Russian crimes against children, like those of the Nazis during World War II, are one of the most horrific markers of war, Ukraine’s UN envoy said.

Kyslytsya called on the relevant UN agencies and officials, including UNICEF and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, to address the issue of mass abduction of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine ahead of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals summit that will take place in September.

“There is no future without children. Where are children’s rights in our discussions in preparation for the summit? Where are children’s issues in many conflicts? What future do we hope for if children are being killed and abducted? How can we ensure sustainable development in the face of the daily loss of children’s lives?” he emphasized.

Kyslytsya also reminded Russia’s UN representatives of “what happened to Nazi diplomats after the defeat of the criminal regime of another dictator and what awaits them.”

According to Kyslytsya, in 2010, a report was published about diplomats of the Third Reich and their involvement in the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes. “It was almost impossible for high-ranking servants of the regime to dissociate themselves from the crimes committed by the Nazi regime. Take the time to read this report, perhaps it will help you break your contract with the devil,” he addressed the Russian representatives.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions against individuals and entities linked to Russia’s forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children.