Thank you, Madam President,

Germany has voted in favor of the resolution.

It is our firm belief that every child has the inherent right to live and grow up free from fear and violence, in a familiar environment, in peace and surrounded by happiness, love, and understanding.

These fundamental imperatives are enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, signed by 196 countries, including, I may add, by the Russian Federation.

Article 8 of said Convention is explicit: It record the obligation of States Parties to respect the right of the child to preserve their identity, including nationality, name and family relations.

Yet, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, for almost four years now, we have witnessed the most egregious violations of children's rights.

The unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children represent a gross violation of human rights and international law, acts which we utterly condemn.The inhumane practice of Russian authorities regarding children in the occupied Ukrainian territories are not inventions. They are well-documented.

The UN Secretary-General’s Children and Armed Conflict report, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have all verified the appalling scale of both the systematic abduction and the forced transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities.

Due to Russia’s persistent refusal to cooperate with the Tracing Mechanism of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the precise numbers of those children that have fallen victim to Russia’s unlawful abductions remain uncertain.

Cautious estimates suggest thousands —possibly even tens of thousands— of Ukrainian children.

Madam President,

The suffering caused by Russia’s actions among Ukrainian children, amongst parents and families constitutes a grave humanitarian emergency. This cannot leave us indifferent.

As General Assembly, it is our shared obligation to end the suffering of these children.This is a humanitarian imperative that every country should acknowledge and act upon. It is also our shared obligation as parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For these reasons, Germany has supported this resolution and voted in favor of it.

Supporting this resolution, which has a clearly humanitarian character, also sends a strong signal of support to ongoing endeavors to end the war in Ukraine, including a solution to its humanitarian dimension.

Thank you.