We Must Be Accountable to Ukraine’s Children: An open statement in advance of the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict

June 18 2023: As the armed conflict in Ukraine continues with no immediate end in sight, the toll on the lives of girls, boys and their families continue to be devastating. In light of UN reports on violations of children’s rights and protection concerns, World Vision welcomed the inclusion of Ukraine as a Situation of Concern under the Children and Armed Conflict agenda by the UN Secretary General in 2022.

Now, as the first opportunity approaches for the Secretary-General to detail and attribute grave violations of children’s rights in Ukraine in his annual report, World Vision urges evidence-based reporting and complete, accurate listing of all perpetrators. As a unique feature of the Children and Armed Conflict agenda, listing perpetrators of grave violations is crucial to establishing a formal Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, initiating formal Action Plans to protect children, and contributing to an end to impunity.  

In a recent report by OHCHR on civilian casualty, 256 boys, and 201 girls, as well as 31 children whose sex is yet unknown have been killed and many hundreds more injured. These recorded deaths and injuries represent only a fraction of the true figure of the actual numbers yet to be disclosed.   Children have been placed at risk of and are likely to have experienced other grave violations of their rights, including recruitment and use by armed groups, and abduction.

Despite being one of the six grave violations of children’s rights, attacks on schools and hospitals have been ongoing. UNICEF reported that thousands of schools, pre-schools and other education facilities in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed due to the use of explosive weapons in the war, including in populated areas. Many parents are reluctant to send children to school, fearing for their safety. In 2022 alone over 700 health facilities in Ukraine were damaged by ground and air launched explosive attacks and looting, as well as denial of access to health care and disruption of patients’ access to necessary medical care. 

Ukraine in 2019 became the 100th Member State to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. This is a commitment to protect children, teachers, and schools.  But today hundreds of schools have been destroyed, used for stockpiling military weapons and accommodation, leaving children deprived of this vital service. The Safe Schools Declaration, which applies to all territories within the state of Ukraine, must be upheld to re-establish safe secure learning environments. Every girl and boy have a right to an education without fear of violence or attack.

Denial of humanitarian access to children - the sixth grave violation, has some of the most sweeping consequences for children’s survival and protection. In situations of armed conflict, the denial of access mean children fail to access life-saving medical care, food, water, shelter, protection and more. Humanitarian access to children has been routinely denied by parties to the conflict, and complicated by repeated attacks on humanitarian workers and convoys, medical personnel, humanitarian assets, and civilian infrastructure.

Bureaucratic and administrative impediments, including sanctions and other legislative measures without sufficient humanitarian safeguards, also serve to hamper access and provision of assistance to children in desperate need. While World Vision responds as close to the frontlines of conflict as possible, access to affected children in need of life-saving assistance and protection is still insufficient and requires both political commitments and concrete actions from all parties to conflict to facilitate safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access.  

In addition to grave violations, girls and boys in Ukraine are facing additional protection concerns. Family separation and the impacts of displacement remain a key concern. Millions of children have been displaced within and outside of Ukraine. In some cases, children have been separated from their parents, caregivers and families, leaving children vulnerable to additional protection concerns and the risk of unnecessary institutionalization or care arrangements not in the best interest of the child. Every effort should be made to reunify children with their families. Children in emergencies should not be moved to another country to be placed in alternative care except for compelling health, medical or safety reasons. When a child must be moved, they should stay as close as possible to their home, be accompanied by a parent or caregiver, and have a clear plan of return home.

The conflict has severely impacted the mental health and emotional well-being of children as well. In a recent needs assessment survey conducted by World Vision with children in eastern Ukraine most children reported having stress and fears regarding potential safety, security, and family separation risks, which impacted their mental well-being significantly. To cope, many resorted to taking drugs, display poor impulse control and even run away from home, exposing themselves to even greater danger. These children like others in Ukraine lack the multi-level mental health and psychosocial interventions necessary to address their psychosocial wellbeing.  A recent report by Heal Ukraine Trauma revealed that the most significant impact of the war in was on their mental health, yet receives insufficient attention. Measures must be taken to protect children’s right to health care through targeted investment in mental health and psychosocial support – for children’s survival now, and for their future.

In light of the protection concerns for children in Ukraine, World Vision recommends…

• The UN Secretary-General publishes his annual report on Children and Armed Conflict with a list of perpetrators is complete, accurate and evidence-based. 
  • The UN Secretary-General list all parties to the conflict in Ukraine attributed to grave violations of children’s rights, such that a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) can be formally established.
  • That upon listing, the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG CAAC) establishes an MRM, engages formally with listed parties to establish Action Plans to protect children, and deploys the full range of tools available within the Children and Armed Conflict mandate to take steps to end and prevent grave violations.
• All parties to the conflict in Ukraine enter into dialogue with the OSRSG CAAC, take concrete action to end and prevent all six grave violations of children’s rights, and steps to protect children experiencing conflict in Ukraine, specifically –  
  • Respect international humanitarian and human rights law, including the protection of civilians, especially children;
  • End attacks on schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, urging parties to conflict that have not already done so to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration, and all signatory parties to uphold their commitments. 
  • Allow safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access for all humanitarian actors and medical personnel, taking steps to end and prevent the denial of humanitarian access to children as a grave violation.
• All duty bearers – State, UN, donor governments, and the humanitarian and international community – to collectively work together to prioritize and strengthen child protection systems and services, with a focus on supporting mental health and psychosocial support and ensuring these are operationalized in the best interest of the child.
• Not least of all, all parties to the conflict cease hostilities.

ENDS.

For further information or to organise an interview, please contact: Cecil_Laguardia@wvi.org

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian and development organisation dedicated to working with children, families and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice.