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Special Envoy's exchange with 46 CoE states representatives: focus on co-operation, awareness-raising of the plight of children of Ukraine

Council of Europe

Special Envoy of the Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine
Strasbourg
7 November 2025

Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine, exchanged views with the Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe today about her activities since the nomination in early February 2025.

She stressed that raising awareness of the plight of children of Ukraine, wherever they are, and co-operation with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the most acute issues facing these children are kept high on the political agenda, are central to her mandate. There is a need for strong international and inter-institutional cooperation, the Special Envoy noted. The Special Envoy reiterated that she would welcome any opportunity to be a connector, a facilitator or a participant in any effort that aligns with the common goal of stepping up and delivering results.

The Special Envoy spoke about her fact-finding mission to Ukraine in March 2025, which reaffirmed the importance of the support to accountability efforts as well as psychological support and trauma-informed care of children affected by Russia's war of aggression.

Regarding psychological support and trauma-informed care, she mentioned the important work being done at the Council of Europe, including by the Council of Europe Consultation Group on the Children of Ukraine to provide support through manuals and trainings of front-line professionals working with war-affected children of Ukraine.

As trauma-informed care is very much linked to any effective accountability process, Thórdís Gylfadóttir highlighted her active cooperation with the Register of Damage for Ukraine . She also mentioned the joint activities with the Parliamentary Assembly's Network on the Situation of Children of Ukraine, notably her intervention in a recent conference on "Restoring Childhood: Physical and Psychological Rehabilitation of War-Affected Ukrainian Children."