In remarks to commemorate the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
File photo of a teenage boy who was treated at a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, after being injured when the car he was travelling in ran over a landmine.
“And these are only the cases that the UN has been able to verify,” she continued. “Despite our repeated requests to access Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, fully in line with international humanitarian law, our requests are always denied.”
She said, “the ugly truth is that the number increases almost every single day as civilian infrastructure is repeatedly hit,” recalling attacks last week in Kharkiv that hit a shopping centre, office building and park, in the space of a few minutes.
Justice must prevail
Ms. Brown said Russia has approved and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, “but the truth is that they are blatantly disregarding what they committed to. And it is for this reason that the Secretary-General officially listed Russia for the killing and maiming of Ukrainian children in 2023.”
She upheld the UN’s commitment to support the people of Ukraine whose lives have been torn apart by the war, adding that the UN consistently documents these violations and works with the Government to provide the care these children so desperately need.
“I know this will not alleviate the suffering of families and will never compensate for the lives lost or the grief endured,” she said. “But what happens here must be recorded in order for justice to prevail.”