Human Rights Office: Humanitarian Acts caused indescribable suffering in millions of children in Ukraine

Volcker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that continuous hostilities and the occupation of the Russian Federation of parts of Ukraine caused widespread violations of human rights, and an insecure suffering of millions of children, adding: “Their rights have been undermined in all aspects of life, which left deep, physical, psychological and social scars.”.

From February 24, 2022 and December 31, 2024, the United Nations Office for Human Rights was killed by the killing of 669 children and the injury of 1833 others, many of them as a result of the intensive use of explosive weapons in the populated areas. Among them, 521 children were killed and 1529 others were wounded in Ukraine -controlled lands, 148 children were killed and 304 others were wounded in the currently occupied territories. The office indicated that the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.

Displacement and asylum

The report also indicated that until December 2024, the number of displaced people was estimated due to hostilities by 737 thousand children. It also became 1.7 million refugee children, many of whom are separate from one of the parents, and their father is usually.

He added that children in the Ukrainian regions occupied by the Russian Federation are especially at risk. In the months that followed the invasion, the Russian armed forces launched widespread violence against civilians, including children.

The office verifies that in the first year after the invasion, at least 200 children were transferred, including many who live in institutions, inside the occupied territories or to the Russian Federation – actions that may constitute war crimes.

The report stated that since the annexation of four regions of Ukraine in late 2022, and in a violation of international law, the authorities of the Russian Federation made radical and comprehensive changes on laws, institutions and governance there, which directly affected children and their human rights.

He added that during the period included in the report, at least 1614 school attacks destroyed or damaged it.

Suffering from various experiences

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it is clear that Ukrainian children have suffered from various experiences in wartime, all of them with serious effects, some of them as refugees in Europe, and others as direct victims, under the threat of continuous bombing, and many of them are subject to forced laws and policies of the Russian authorities in the occupied areas.

Turk added: As our report shows, recognition and processing of violations are two essentials to ensure a future in which all Ukrainian children can restore their rights, identity and security, away from the permanent consequences of war and occupation. “.