War should never be normalized for child victims: Humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine
In his commemorative speech International Day of Innocent Children Victims of AggressionDenise Brown also noted that boys and girls in frontline areas were spending about the same amount seven months underground in a bomb shelter because of the relentless attacks.
“I will keep repeating that The entire international community must never accept what is happening in Ukraine as normal. Children should not grow up in the middle of war,” she said. speak.
“War is not normal and we must not get used to it.”
Youthful dreams postponed
Ms. Brown said she met many lovely, joyful and smiling children during her time in Ukraine, adding that despite being fully invaded by Russia more than two years ago, the children still felt loved and loved. protect.
She recalls last Christmas visit to rural Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, where she shared chocolate and candy with local children, who told her about their dreams of one day become a doctor or teacher.
“But when I think about the kids I’ve met, I can’t help but think about the kids I’ll never meet,” she said.
“In the same village, Hroza, an eight-year-old boy was killed when a Russian missile tore through his community on October 5, 2023. So many other children have gotten lost while sleeping or playing.”
The ‘ugly’ truth
Emphasizing that “the truth is shocking and the world must face it,” she reported More than 600 Ukrainian children died and 1,420 were injuredsince the Russian invasion escalated in February 2022.
File photo of a boy being treated at a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, after being injured when the car he was driving ran over a mine.
“And these are only the cases that the United Nations has been able to verify,” she continued. “Despite our repeated requests for access to Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, in full compliance with international humanitarian law, our requests have always been denied.”
“The ugly truth,” she said, “is that this number increases almost every day as civilian infrastructure continues to come under attack,” she recalled. last week’s attack in Kharkov Attack shopping malls, office buildings and parks in just 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 have committed to. And it is for this reason that the Secretary General has officially placed Russia on the list of killers and maimers of Ukrainian children by 2023.”
She supported the United Nations’ commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine whose lives have been devastated by war, adding that the United Nations continuously documents these violations and works with the Government to provide provide the care these children desperately need.
“I know this will not alleviate the pain of the families and will never make up for the lives lost or the pain endured,” she said. “But what happened here must be recorded so that justice can be served.”
