With its “no”, Havana was explicitly aligned with Russia in an issue that the General Assembly itself has described as a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
MIAMI, United States. – The UN General Assembly approved this Wednesday a resolution that demands from Russia the “immediate, safe and unconditional return” of all Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred from occupied territories, in a vote that left the Cuban regime in the small group of 12 countries that opposed the text along with Moscow.
The project, titled Return of Ukrainian children It obtained 91 votes in favor, 12 against and 57 abstentions. Among the latter were powers such as China, India and Brazil. Instead, Havana joined the bloc opposed to the resolution, made up of Russia, Belarus, Iran, Eritrea, Mali, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
With its “no”, Havana was explicitly aligned with Russia on an issue that the General Assembly itself has described as a serious violation of international humanitarian law, by addressing the deportation and forcible transfer of minors from occupied territories. The official UN statement about the session he emphasizes that international law “is crystal clear” in article 49 of the IV Geneva Conventionwhich prohibits the forcible transfer or deportation of civilians, including children, from occupied territories.
The contrast is especially sensitive in the Cuban case: the country has claimed for decades the Tarará medical program, where some 25,000 children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident – mostly Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians – were treated for free between 1990 and 2011. The decision to vote against a resolution focused exclusively on the protection of Ukrainian children deported by Russia now places Havana in the public eye. internationally, on the side of the State designated as responsible for their forced transfer.
So far, the official summaries of the session released by the United Nations and the specialized media reports do not include a Cuban intervention explaining their vote, unlike the delegations of Ukraine and Russia, which did present their positions from the rostrum.
What does the approved resolution require?
The resolution adopted by the General Assembly demands the Russian Federation to guarantee “the immediate, safe and unconditional return” of all Ukrainian children “forcibly transferred or deported” since 2014, both to Russian territory and to Belarus or to occupied areas. The text also:
- Urges Moscow to immediately end any new deportation or transfer of minors and any forced separation of families.
- It condemns legal and administrative measures that facilitate changes of citizenship, adoptions, placement in Russian families or institutionalization, as well as ideological indoctrination and “Russification” of children.
- Instructs the UN Secretary General to use all available mechanisms – including the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict – to coordinate efforts, monitor the case and support the return of minors.
The magnitude of the problem: thousands of children deported
According to the Ukrainian state platform “Children of War”as of June 28 of this year, 19,546 children had been registered “forcibly displaced and/or deported” by Russia from occupied territories. kyiv authorities say the total number of cases under investigation exceeds 20,000.
In her speech before the General Assembly, Ukrainian Vice Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa declared that “there will be no just peace in Ukraine without the immediate and unconditional return of our children home” and stressed that “this resolution is not about politics; it is about humanity.” According to the data presented, just over 1,850 minors have been able to return to their families, a fraction of the total number of reported cases.
Research by the Humanitarian Research Laboratory (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health, within the framework of the US Conflict Observatory program, indicates that Ukrainian children have been transferred to at least 210 facilities within Russia and in occupied Ukrainian territories, in the context of a systematic program of deportation, “re-education” and forced adoptions.
The transnational dimension of the problem was recently highlighted before the US Senate by Ukrainian jurist Kateryna Rashevska, an expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights. According to testimony collected by the US Congress and reviewed by the Ukrainian World CongressRashevska stated that her organization has documented 165 “re-education” camps where Ukrainian children are “militarized and Russified,” including facilities in Russia, Belarus and North Korea.
In parallel to the diplomatic negotiations, the international offensive to achieve the return of the minors has involved unusual actors. Reuters reported that the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, sent a personal letter to Vladimir Putin months ago in which she urged him to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children, open access to humanitarian organizations and support diplomatic corridors for family reunification.
