Human Rights Council – 63rd session
Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Monday, 15 September 2026
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the group of countries and my own country, Ukraine.
We thank the Working Group for its continued efforts to address enforced disappearances and establish the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons. International humanitarian law and international human rights law prohibit enforced disappearances and guarantee the right of families to know what has happened to their loved ones.
We draw particular attention to Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation. Many families face prolonged uncertainty, without reliable information about their relatives’ fate, whereabouts or conditions of detention. We are particularly concerned about cases where detention is not acknowledged or information is deliberately concealed.
In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain civilians, many held incommunicado, while their families are denied information about their fate or whereabouts.
Ukrainian children are also among the victims of Russia’s aggression. Children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred, leaving families without reliable information about their fate or whereabouts.
We call upon the Working Group to give particular attention to prisoners of war, missing serviceperson, disappeared civilians, and children whose fate remains unknown.
Prisoners of war must be fully exchanged. Those unlawfully detained must be released. The fate of every missing person especially children must be established. They have names. They have families waiting for them. And they must come home.
Thank you.