Today, the Security Council will address the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. It is important that all members of the Council are fully briefed on how Russia’s war is destroying millions of lives - and childhoods.
Each and every of the 7.5 million children in Ukraine is suffering from this war. Whether they have been forced to flee or remain, children continue to be:
Killed
Injured
Raped
Trafficked
and traumatized.
They have lost access to schools, and many places there is no electricity, which means that children live in darkness, and fear, they freeze, and they go hungry.
Bringing such terror upon children has no place in our time. Let me be clear: There must be no impunity.
It is important that Russia’s violations against children’s rights have now formally become a ‘situation of concern’ on the agenda of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
Norway commends the local responders, the UN, and humanitarian partners on the ground, who work around the clock to provide humanitarian protection and assistance to the little ones. Their work saves lives, and brings hope.
Russia’s war doesn’t just make life harder for children in Ukraine, but it also impacts the lives of children in many regions particularly in Africa and the Middle East, because of the worsening of the global food and energy crisis.
Children are innocent. Always. Nothing can legitimize attacks on children. Russia should stop destroying their country, their childhood and their future.