On 2-4 December, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mariana Betsa paid a visit to the UN Headquarters in New York to mobilize the support of UN Member States for the UN General Assembly resolution “Return of Ukrainian Children”. The resolution was submitted by Ukraine on the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who consistently places the issue of returning Ukrainian children at the centre of the international agenda.

Presenting the draft resolution on December 3 at the 11th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mariana Betsa, in particular, stressed:

“This resolution is about humanity and the moral duty of the international community to bring every Ukrainian child home. A just peace is impossible without the return of Ukrainian children. Russia is systematically deporting and forcibly relocating Ukrainian children, changing their names and documents, isolates them from their families, imposes propaganda, militarizes them, and attempts to erase Ukrainian identity; thousands of children still remain in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories – in camps, institutions, and foster families, often under altered personal data; international law unequivocally obliges the occupying power to ensure the immediate return of children – without any conditions or negotiations.”

During the visit, Deputy Minister Mariana Betsa held meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten.

Mariana Betsa expressed gratitude for the UN’s activities and assistance in the humanitarian sphere in Ukraine in the context of Russia’s full-scale war against our state, and underscored the critical need to maintain the scale of UN assistance to affected Ukrainian citizens amid Russia’s ongoing massive missile and drone attacks targeting Ukraine’s civilian and critical infrastructure.

The Deputy Minister also emphasized the importance of ensuring accountability of the Russian Federation for its aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including those committed against children.

As part of efforts to consolidate support for the above-mentioned UN General Assembly resolution, Mariana Betsa held a bilateral meeting at the UN with the Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Mike Waltz, as well as a briefing for the Permanent Representatives of the Member States of the European Union to the UN .

The Deputy Minister also held separate meetings with representatives of Qatar, Kuwait, Brazil, the Philippines, Djibouti, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, Rwanda, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Australia, Indonesia, as well as with the EU delegation.

Mariana Betsa drew the attention of international partners to the catastrophic consequences of Russian aggression for Ukrainian children and called on partners to support the UN General Assembly resolution and the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

The Deputy Minister called for facilitating the achievement of a just and lasting peace based on the UN Charter, first and foremost on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.

On December 3, 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution “Return of Ukrainian Children,” submitted by Ukraine jointly with Canada and the European Union, and co-sponsored by 48 UN Member States.

This is the first resolution on the return of Ukrainian children adopted within the framework of international organizations.