From Condemnation To Compliance: The Protection–Fragility Paradox In Returning Ukrainian Children Under UNGA Resolution A/RES/ES-11/9
- IJLLR Journal
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Anahita Singh, The Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal
ABSTRACT
Despite the existence of extensive international legal protections, children continue to be unlawfully transferred, displaced, and separated from their families in contemporary armed conflicts, raising fundamental questions about the effectiveness of international law in practice. Armed conflict continues to expose children to some of the gravest violations of international law, including unlawful deportation, family separation, and the erosion of identity and nationality. By the end of 2024, nearly 49 million children worldwide were living in situations of forced displacement caused by conflict and violence, reflecting a systemic protection crisis that increasingly characterises contemporary warfare. The armed conflict in Ukraine represents one of the most legally and normatively significant manifestations of this global pattern, with more than 5.7 million refugees and approximately 5.3 million internally displaced persons recorded since February 2022. Within this humanitarian emergency, the reported forcible transfer and deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied territories has generated profound legal, institutional, and ethical concerns regarding the effectiveness of existing international protection regimes.
In response, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/ES-11/9 in December 2025, calling for the “immediate, safe and unconditional return” of these children. Although formally non-binding, contemporary legal scholarship increasingly recognises that General Assembly resolutions can exercise significant normative influence by consolidating existing legal obligations and shaping expectations of lawful state conduct. In this context, A/RES/ES-11/9 reinforces the prohibition of forcible transfer under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, as authoritatively interpreted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, affirms the child-centred protections embedded within the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and complements accountability mechanisms under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The resolution therefore operates not only as a political expression of concern, but as part of a broader normative process through which international law seeks to reinforce compliance in situations where enforcement mechanisms remain limited.
