(MENAFN) The UN General Assembly passed a resolution Wednesday demanding that Russia ensure the immediate return of all Ukrainian children who have been "forcibly transferred or deported," labeling the actions “a violation of international law.” The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favor, 12 against, and 57 abstentions during the Eleventh Emergency Special Session on Aggression against Ukraine.

The resolution “demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported.”

It also expresses “deep concern about the impact of the war on children…including those forcibly transferred within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and those deported to the Russian Federation.”

The General Assembly noted that such actions breach international law, which prohibits individual or mass forcible transfers from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power. The resolution specifically criticized “legislative and administrative measures taken by the Russian Federation since 2022 that simplify the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, particularly orphans, children deprived of parental care and unaccompanied children.”

It further condemned “the separation of families and of children from legal guardians, and any subsequent forced change of children's personal status, their citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and efforts to indoctrinate them.” The resolution calls on Russia “to cease, without delay, any further practice of forcible transfer, deportation, separation from families and legal guardians, change of personal status…and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.”

The resolution also requests UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to engage with Russia to facilitate the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported and to guarantee “unimpeded access for United Nations entities and other relevant international monitoring and humanitarian organizations to verify the situation of Ukrainian children.”

It emphasizes the importance of investigating and holding accountable those responsible for these actions. Russia denies the accusations, asserting that all child relocations are voluntary evacuations intended to protect them from conflict zones.

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