HRC52 – Item 10: Interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner's oral report on Ukraine
Geneva, 31 March 2023
 
National statement
delivered by
 
H.E. Ms. Ravesa Lleshi
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Albania in Geneva
 
 
Mr. President,
 
“Bucha” is a name that evokes horror. The massacre of innocent civilians revealed in the wake of retreating Russian forces one year ago today was the beginning of a growing body of harrowing evidence of Russia’s illegal and barbaric actions.
 
The 400 days of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have been a gruesome testimony of the horrendous human cost of this war.
 
Children are among the most vulnerable. Some 4.6 million children have been internally or externally displaced since Russia’s full-scale invasion. More than 500 children have been killed in Ukraine, and more than a thousand have been wounded. More than 650 schools, and more than 600 medical facilities have been attacked. And more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped and taken to Russia.
 
Children should not be the spoils of war, but forced transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children are part of Russia’s policy – illegal and unconscionable, as every other aspect of its aggression against Ukraine.
 
Albania thanks the OHCHR and all other mechanisms for the meticulous effort to uncover the truth of Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine, and acknowledging the deep scars of trauma the Ukrainian people endure. The victims of Russia’s aggression deserve justice, and those responsible for human rights violations and international crimes will be held accountable.
 
I thank you.