Statement delivered by Ambassador Trishala Persaud, Deputy Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, at the Security Council Briefing on 'Maintenance of Peace and Security of Ukraine' (Children of War)

Thank you, Mr. President,

I thank Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms. Catherine Russell, Mr. Raymond and Ms. Rashevska for their briefings.

Guyana commends the focus of today’s meeting on the plight of children in Ukraine. We deeply regret that this war continues to have devastating consequences for millions of children, not only robbing them of the joys of childhood but impacting their futures.

Hundreds have already lost their lives, while many more have been injured, displaced, and forced to face uncertain futures. Living each day in constant fear while enduring relentless hostilities, prolonged displacement, and severe shortages of essential resources, including safe water, electricity, and other necessities, children in Ukraine have already paid too high a price on account of this war.

As attacks against critical civilian infrastructure continue to intensify, so too does the suffering that children are forced to bear. Disrupted water, heating, and electricity services have left over 1.7 million children across Ukraine without safe water, while 3.4 million lack access to centralized sanitation, thereby heightening their risk of disease amid plummeting temperatures.  

Attacks in populated areas have caused large numbers of child casualties. and injuries. When will it end?

Mr. President,

Every boy and girl has the right to a life without fear or want; it is no different for children in Ukraine. They did not ask for this war but will be forced to carry its trauma and scars well into adulthood.  

Guyana deplores the high toll that the war has taken on the lives of innocent men, women, and children and continues to call for an immediate end to the hostilities and to all attacks against civilians and civilian objects.  

We have noted that despite professed respect for international humanitarian law, schools and hospitals continue to be targeted by missile strikes with seeming impunity. The United Nations has reported that at least 1,496 educational institutions and 662 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. This does not augur well for children’s access to education and health services.

Moreover, OHCHR has documented human rights violations against civilians of all ages including cases of arbitrary detention, torture, summary executions, sexual violence, transfers, and deportations of children.

Guyana condemns all such violations. We continue to call for full accountability and for the parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international law, including those applicable to them under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12th August 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977.

We also call on the Russian Federation to provide access to the United Nations to the temporarily controlled or occupied territories of Ukraine so that allegations of grave violations against children in those areas can be verified.

Mr. President,

Guyana thanks UNICEF for their valuable work in support of the children in Ukraine. We also commend the international community for its response to the growing humanitarian needs and support for the victims. We maintain that the only path to lasting peace is through de-escalation and diplomacy. We urge the United Nations and all Member States to channel efforts into silencing the drums of war and building lasting peace.

The lives of millions of children hang in the balance. They are counting on us to have the courage to take the necessary steps to bring them back from the abyss into which they have been thrown.

In closing, Mr. President, I reiterate Guyana’s call for lasting peace in Ukraine and pledge our continued support toward all efforts aimed at a peaceful and sustainable end to this war.

I Thank You.