News

On 21 February, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė, met with the newly appointed Special Envoy of the Council of Europe Secretary General, on the situation of children of Ukraine, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir. The meeting focused on international cooperation mechanisms to ensure the protection of Ukrainian children and Russia’s accountability for war crimes.

The Foreign Vice-Minister underlined that Lithuania actively supported mechanisms to ensure punishment for crimes and child rights protection initiatives in all multilateral formats.

“Lithuania strongly condemns the unlawful deportation, forcible transfer, illegal adoption, militarisation and political indoctrination of Ukrainian children. This is a war crime and a gross violation of children’s rights aimed at destroying their national identity,” said Grigaitė-Daugirdė.

The Special Envoy of the Council of Europe Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine is mandated to raise awareness of the challenges faced by Ukrainian children and of the Council of Europe’s standards and initiatives to support them, foster international cooperation and ensure internal coordination.

On 5 February 2025, the Secretary General Alain Berset appointed Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir (Iceland) as his Special Representative for the situation of Ukrainian children.

Set up to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Council of Europe is a Strasbourg-based international organisation that now includes 46  European countries. Lithuania held the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from 17 May to 13 November 2024. When at the helm, Lithuania also paid special attention to the situation of Ukrainian children – their well-being in Ukraine and asylum countries, and the safe return of children deported to Russia or illegally adopted there.