Madam President,
I thank Ms. Russell, Mr. Raymond and Ms. Rashevska for their presentations.
It has been almost three years since Russia waged an illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, which resulted in unacceptable suffering for Ukrainian children.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 12,000 civilians have been killed and almost 27,000 injured since February 24, 2022. More than 4 million people have been displaced and more than 14 million have need help. Among these civilian victims are tens of thousands of children.
Russia has committed war crimes against them, such as the missile strike against the Okhamdyt children’s hospital on July 8. For such actions, she was included in the annex to the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict.
When Russia’s indiscriminate strikes hit Ukraine’s residential areas, energy infrastructure, hospitals and schools, they prevent children in that country from accessing essential services. They are damaging their future. UNESCO estimates that 4,163 educational establishments have been damaged since the start of the war.
France condemns the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, or their illegal deportation to Russia, which subjects these children to a policy of forced acculturation. We demand that she return Ukrainian children to their families, legal guardians and communities. We remain committed to enabling this return and supporting efforts to this end, including the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, co-chaired by Canada and Ukraine. In this regard, we welcome the recent holding in Montreal of the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula.
France is continuing its efforts to welcome Ukrainian children and ensure that they have access to education and health. €1M of our contribution to UNICEF for 2024 is used for the reconstruction and operation of two Child Rights Protection Centers in Kharkiv and Dnipro.
France condemns the war crimes committed in Ukraine. Their perpetrators must not go unpunished. We reiterate our support for the International Criminal Court and the Ukrainian courts, in order to guarantee accountability. The work of the International and Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine remains indispensable.
France welcomes the successful completion, on October 25, of Ukraine’s ratification process of the Rome Statute.
She will remain committed to respecting international humanitarian law and human rights, especially for children. Respect for these rights is an integral part of a global, just and lasting peace, in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
Thank you.
