Reinsalu spoke Friday at the international conference "UN Resolution: Women, Peace and Security," focusing in his speech on Russia's genocide against the people of Ukraine, which also involves sexual violence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

It is shameful that only a few countries worldwide have called Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine a genocide, he said, adding that failing to correctly define this crime against humanity is tantamount to diminishing it.

The Estonian minister noted that Russia's genocide against Ukraine involves sexual violence as well. "This is aimed at demeaning people and impairing them mentally and physically," he said. He added that the ongoing genocide has also involved the removal of children from Ukrainian families, as well as stealing children and deporting them to Russia.

He called for an acknowledgement of Russia's genocide against Ukraine and underlined that Friday, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), Estonia's thoughts are with all the girls and women who have been subjected to sexual violence.

Friday's conference was organized by the Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association (EATA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, NATO Headquarters, the Canadian Embassy in Tallinn and the German Embassy in Tallinn.

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