Australia accords the highest priority to protecting children during armed conflict. We concur with the remarks made by Canada on behalf of a group of nations.
The illegal transfer or deportation of children during armed conflict needs to be addressed by the UN Security Council and UN Member States.
This means taking decisive action to stop this war crime, respond to it, and hold the guilty accountable.
Armed conflict disproportionately affects children. Armed groups frequently enlist and utilise children during armed conflict, particularly following the kidnapping.
They were killed or hurt.
They are victims of rape and other severe sexual assault. Additionally, they experience the adverse effects of limited access to health and educational resources.
The effects are catastrophic. The effects last for a long time.
It is reprehensible to kidnap and deport children, the most defenceless members of our community.
The illegal and immoral war Russia is waging in Ukraine is the cause of a significant rise in cases throughout 2022 and 2023 for this widespread and unlawful breach.
Australia categorically denounces the Russian military’s forcible expulsion of Ukrainian children and their other heinous crimes against children.
Over 16 221 children have been sent from Ukraine to Russia, according to a report by Independent International Commission of Inquiry Ukraine in March.
The Commission’s conclusion that this constituted the forcible removal of children from their parents, the imposition of Russian citizenship, and the placement of Ukrainian children with Russian families causes us great worry.
Generations can be harmed physically and psychologically by a child’s absence from their family and culture. It also impacts communities and parents, and it may alter the likelihood of a comprehensive, just, and long-lasting peace.
The International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for President Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights is a significant step toward ensuring that those responsible for the crime of child abduction and deportation are held accountable and bringing justice to Ukraine and its people.
The Court has determined that there is probable cause to suspect that President Putin and the Commissioner are each criminally liable for the illegal deportation and transfer of children from the illegally occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia.
Russia has made ridiculous attempts to claim that its activities in Ukraine are by children’s rights, international law, and the UN’s agenda on children and armed conflict. They offend me greatly.
Respect must be shown for this forum as a venue for promoting security and peace rather than spreading misinformation.
Again, we urge all parties to armed conflict to respect human rights & international humanitarian law and promptly end the kidnapping and deportation of children. We call Russia to withdraw its forces and halt its unlawful and immoral war on Ukraine.
