UNITED NATIONS THIRD COMMITTEE: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE: COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON UKRAINE
Statement by Mr. Harry Aitken, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations
27 October 2025
Thank you Chair.
Australia thanks the Commission of Inquiry for its update and continued efforts to document Russia's ongoing human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine's defence is also a defence of the values enshrined in the UN Charter.
We are deeply concerned by findings of Russia's widespread and systematic use of torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and summary executions of Ukrainian prisoners. These grave violations demand accountability.
Russia's continued attacks on critical and civilian infrastructure are especially alarming amid ongoing discussions to end the war. Deliberate targeting of civilians is a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
We are troubled by the forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children, which violates international legal protections and undermines family unity.
And we are disturbed by credible reports of systematic repression in the temporarily occupied Crimea, including forced conscription, suppression of ethnic and religious identity, political persecution, and the silencing of independent media.
Australia supports all meaningful efforts, including those led by the United States and our European partners, toward a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Russia must immediately and unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine's internationally recognised borders, including Crimea, and comply with its international obligations and end its war of aggression.
Thank you.