The UN General Assembly, in a vote on Wednesday (3 December) overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution demanding that Russia returns Ukrainian children kidnapped since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. 91 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 12 voted against, and 57 countries abstained or were not present.
Russia and Belarus were joined by ten countries in voting against the resolution, namely, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Eritrea.
From the South Caucasus, Georgia voted in favour of the resolution, but Armenia and Azerbaijan abstained, as did Turkiye and the five Central Asian republics. Also abstaining were the six Gulf monarchies and most Arab countries.
The resolution calls for the immediate return of Ukrainian children who were deported to Russia.
The Ukrainian government says more than 19,000 children have been taken away from Russian-occupied areas and elsewhere since Moscow's invasion began in February of 2022.
The draft resolution submitted on Wednesday demands that Russia "ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return" of the children.
Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said the children are being taught to hate their own country. She added that in some cases the names of the children have been changed, so they may never be able to be tracked down. Betsa explained that some of the name changes were made after the kids were adopted.
She also noted that many children are still missing. The minister said, "Many still are there, waiting in fear, hoping to be found, counting days when they will be rescued."
Russia's representative claimed that the adoptions are temporary guardianship measures. The official described the UN resolution as mendacious and said that it is nothing more than a mere piece of paper.
The resolution was adopted with the support of 91 countries. Russia and 11 others voted against it. China and 56 others abstained.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It accused him of committing the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
source: commonspace.eu, with UN News (New York), NHK (Tokyo), and agencies
