UMDPL joined the joint submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Ukrainian Child Rights Network joined the joint submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, prepared together with the Regional Center for Human Rights and the Voices of Children.

The document was submitted at the 78th session of the Committee in Geneva in September 2025, as part of the periodic report of the Russian Federation.

The submission documents the multilevel policy of the Russian Federation aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity, culture and the usual way of life in the occupied territories. In particular, 7 key practices of the occupation authorities are highlighted:

• deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian families;
• destruction of Ukrainian education;
• militarization and indoctrination of children;
• destruction and appropriation of cultural heritage;
• use of museums for state propaganda purposes;
• colonization of territories by resettlement of Russian citizens;
• massive illegal seizure of private property.

These actions are systemic and violate the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and international humanitarian law.

We urge the Committee to include the following recommendations in its concluding observations on the Russian Federation:

• Create an international mechanism for the return of all abducted children and ensure their reunification with their families.
• To stop political indoctrination and militarization of education, to abolish Russian educational standards in the occupied territories.
• Restore access to Ukrainian education and culture, provide Ukrainians with the opportunity to preserve and develop their culture in the occupied territories.
• Ensure the return of cultural property and compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine’s cultural heritage sites in the occupied territories, and stop the use of cultural institutions for the political and ideological purposes of the Russian Federation.
• Stop the colonization of the occupied territories by Russian citizens.
• Return the illegally confiscated property to its owners, and exclude the territory of Crimea from the list of “border territories of the Russian Federation”.
• To fulfill the ECHR judgments and other international obligations under the decisions in the cases concerning Crimea and aggression against Ukraine.

We also emphasized the need to address the UN General Assembly with a request to adopt a resolution recognizing the indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories as a serious violation of children’s rights during war.