Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya at an informal UNSC “Arria formula” meeting on the topic “Red Hand Day 2026: Safe Education to Prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict”
Mr. President,
We thank Panama and other organizers for the opportunity to exchange views on the use of children in armed conflict, which is an issue that remains pressing for nearly a quarter of a century following the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are grateful to Ms. Frazier, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, and other speakers for their contributions to the discussion.
According to the latest report by the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, the recruitment and the use of minors is one of the three most frequent serious violations. It is telling that the highest rates thereof are recorded in countries with low and below-average income levels. In such conditions, many children join armed groups voluntarily in an attempt to escape poverty.
Thus, it is clear that this ugly phenomenon can be effectively combated not until its root causes are addressed, which is possible through advancing the right to development, including the fight against poverty, expanding opportunities for decent employment, and access to quality education.
At the same time, the situation of armed conflict inevitably creates a vicious circle, undermining the development and accessibility of school education, which is one of the prerequisites for social progress.
Mr. President,
A serious obstacle to cooperation in helping children in armed conflict is the instrumentalization of this agenda for political purposes. Many of you hear accusations against Russia, these accusations are coming from the Western media, and sometimes even from UN documents. However, these accusations are usually not borne out by any evidence, while presenting tragic incidents as a deliberate policy.
However, you will never learn from these sources about Russian schoolchildren living under hostilities. Let me give you just a few examples. In the last week alone, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have carried out five strikes targeting schools. Children in the Belgorod region are regularly transferred to remote learning due to rocket attacks, like the one that happened two days ago. Yesterday, kamikaze drones struck a school in the village of Novaya Pogoshch in the Bryansk region. As recently as February 21, the Ukrainian army hit a school in Vasilyevka in the Zaporozhye region. On February 20, a drone deliberately attacked a school in Energodar, Zaporozhye region, with 600 students and 100 staff members being inside the building at that moment. On February 14, a UAV attack damaged a school in the village of Tsentralny in the Perevalsky district of the Lugansk People’s Republic, and on February 13, a school in the village of Velikaya Znamyonka in the Zaporozhye region was hit. Such incidents occur almost every day, endangering the lives of children and destroying educational institutions.
However, such disregard for international humanitarian law provisions on the protection of civilian objects demonstrated by the Ukrainian military is nothing new. Back in August 2022, Amnesty International was compelled to report on the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were stationing troops in schools and hospitals and launching attacks from there. Such actions, as is well known, turn civilian objects into military targets.
This uncomfortable truth continues to be hushed up by those who continue to harness the children's issue as a tool for political manipulation.
Mr. President,
When discussing the impact of armed conflict on children, we cannot but mention the situation in the Gaza Strip, where more than 64,000 children have been killed or injured. The education system has been virtually destroyed: 518 out of 564 school buildings require complete reconstruction, and more than 800 teachers and other staff members of different educational institutions have been killed and over 4,200 wounded, according to UNRWA.
In northeastern Syria, the notorious Al-Hol and Roj camps are about to be closed, and it remains uncertain what will happen to the children who have been held there, and these children have been cut off from the outside world for years, had no humanitarian access nor any opportunity to receive an education, and were affected by terrorist narratives. Since 2018, Russia has been carrying out a humanitarian mission to repatriate Russian children from the Middle East, which is being done upon the instructions of the head of State and in coordination with the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights. As a result, almost 600 children have returned to their homeland. However, the work does not end when children cross the Russian border. When they arrive, we provide them with medical, social, and psychological rehabilitation, we work with their families, and ensure their access to education.
European countries, which usually position themselves as champions of children's rights, are in no hurry to take their citizens from the region beyond the Euphrates.
According to the 22nd report of the Secretary-General on threats posed by ISIL, as of December 2025, more than 25,000 people remained in the Al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern Syria, this number includes approximately 15,000 Syrian citizens, 2,320 Iraqi citizens and 8,480 nationals from approximately 59 different countries. Thousands more remained in other detention centers. More than 60% of people in camps were children, with 71% of them being under 12 years of age and 7% – under five years of age. Most of these children are still unable to return to their countries of origin.
It is telling that the authorities of Western countries are not only failing to address the issue of repatriating their citizens, especially children, but are also publicly refusing to take them back. Australia provides a clear illustration of how such countries truly care about the fate of children. Attempts by women and children to return to Australia from Syria were met by the country's prime minister stating that the federal government would not repatriate Australian families having any relation to ISIL fighters and would not provide them with any assistance.
We consider vital to continue depoliticized cooperation within the framework of the agenda for children in armed conflict. Our joint efforts should help every child, wherever they are, including in ensuring their right to education.
Thank you.
