21 March 2025
There have been a staggering 1,614
recorded attacks on Ukrainian schools up to the end of last
year says the report from the UN human rights office OHCHR –
part of a legacy of death, injury, disability and family
separation.
Children’s educational attainment level
has plummeted during the unrelenting hostilities,
“diminishing their future educational path and ability to
realize their full potential in employment and
beyond.”
Furthermore, children living in the four
regions annexed by Russia in breach of international law,
are “especially vulnerable” following the imposition of
a Russian school curriculum.
Propaganda
exercise
“Military-patriotic training is
prioritised, and children are exposed to war propaganda,”
Liz Throssell of the Office for Human Rights told
journalists in Geneva on Friday.
“Children are also
completely restricted from accessing education in the
Ukrainian language and have been imposed with Russian
citizenship,” she continued.
The
horrifying impact on Ukraine’s youngest extends way beyond
the classroom. As the report unveils, a verified 669
children were killed and 1,833 injured since February 2022,
with the actual numbers likely much
higher.
With hundreds of thousands of
internally displaced and close to two million children
living outside the country as refugees, many of them
separated from a parent, High Commissioner Volker Türk said
“their rights have been undermined in every aspect of
life, leaving deep scars, both physical and
psychosocial.”
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OHCHR confirms that at least 200
children have been transferred to Russia, or within occupied
territory in eastern Ukraine – “acts that may constitute
war crimes,” Ms. Throssell insisted.
However, due to
lack of access, the full scale of these incidents cannot be
properly evaluated, the UN official
stated.
‘Drastic wartime
experiences’
“It is clear that Ukrainian children
have endured a wide range of drastic wartime experiences,
all with serious impacts – some as refugees in Europe,
others as direct victims, under continued threat of
bombardment, and many subject to the coercive laws and
policies of the Russian authorities in occupied areas,” UN
human rights chief Türk said.
“As our report makes
clear, acknowledging and addressing violations are essential
to ensure a future where all Ukrainian children can reclaim
their rights, identity and security, free from the enduring
consequences of war and occupation,” he
added.
