Addressing the UN General Assembly’s Emergency Special Session on Ukraine on 3 December 2025, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Archie Young, focused the intervention on protecting Ukrainian children. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published the full statement on 5 December, confirming the UK’s call for UN‑verified returns.
Citing figures from the Government of Ukraine and UN reporting, the UK said more than 19,500 children have been forcibly deported to the Russian Federation or within occupied areas; over 1.6 million remain under occupation facing Russian curricula and militarisation; there have been nearly 53,000 verified civilian casualties since the invasion, including more than 3,000 children; 358 educational institutions have been destroyed, with a kindergarten in Kharkiv struck the previous month.
On the same day, the General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children, passing by 91 votes to 12 with 57 abstentions. The resolution recalls the prohibition on forcible transfer or deportation under the Geneva Conventions and tasks the UN system with stepped‑up coordination to locate and return children.
International humanitarian law is clear. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention forbids the forcible transfer or deportation of protected civilians from occupied territory. Article 147 classifies unlawful deportation or transfer as a grave breach, and Article 146 obliges states to search for suspects and prosecute or extradite them. These provisions establish individual criminal responsibility and a duty on states to act.
Accountability pathways are already engaged. On 17 March 2023, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova‑Belova for the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas, referring to Rome Statute Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii). States Parties are required to cooperate with the Court.
Verification and safe return would draw on existing frameworks. The UN Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on grave violations against children, created under Security Council resolution 1612, documents abductions and attacks on schools, while the International Committee of the Red Cross-through its Central Tracing Agency and Family Links Network-acts as a neutral intermediary to trace separated children and reunite families.
The concerns raised about curriculum changes and militarisation also engage occupation law beyond movement of children. Under Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power must facilitate the functioning of institutions for children’s care and education, preserve children’s personal status and identity, and refrain from involving them in formations subordinate to it.
Operationally, implementing the Assembly’s demand points to identity verification against Ukrainian civil registries, proof‑of‑parentage processes, best‑interests assessments, and structured cross‑border handovers overseen by UN agencies with ICRC participation. For states, grave‑breach regimes require domestic criminalisation and cooperation with investigations, including the exercise of universal jurisdiction where provided for in national law.
The UK statement urged Russia to comply with international humanitarian law, cease the forcible transfer of children, and withdraw its forces to remove the conditions enabling violations. It also called for UN‑facilitated verification of every return, aligning with the General Assembly’s resolution adopted on 3 December 2025.
For policy teams, immediate priorities are coordination between the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, UNICEF and the ICRC to operationalise tracing and return; resourcing Ukrainian child‑protection and education services for reintegration; and sustained cooperation with the ICC and national prosecutors. Delivery will be measured by verified identifications, safe handovers, and admissible evidence supporting accountability.