33 countries have already joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children

33 countries joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children / Photo for illustration

Already 33 countries are members of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children

This was announced by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets.

As Lubinets reminds, the Coalition was launched in Kyiv on February 2, 2024. This is a joint initiative of Ukraine and Canada. The main goal of the Coalition is to coordinate mutual efforts and intensify cooperation between Canada, Ukraine and partner states to solve the problem of illegal deportation and forced relocation of Ukrainian children by Russia.

«Currently, 19,546 children have been abducted by Russia, but this number could be much higher. «Russia not only deports Ukrainian children, but also erases their identity and re-educates them,» noted Dmytro Lubinets.

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Since the inception of the Coalition, Canada has been cooperating with many international partners on bilateral and multilateral platforms. In particular, so that other countries understand that the Russian Federation has been deporting Ukrainian children since 2014.

In addition, the ombudsman adds, within the framework of the Coalition, a working group of Canadian consular employees and representatives of the emergency response service recently completed an inspection mission in Kyiv. During this mission:

• held a series of meetings to better understand the complexity of the issue and potential challenges related to the deportation and forced relocation of Ukrainian children by Russia;
• worked on identifying partners, needs, gaps and potential areas of assistance.

«This will help Canada's work to provide technical assistance to Ukraine in cooperation with Coalition members and for other purposes,» he added.

As Dmytro Lubinets noted, among the members of the Coalition are Canada, the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Austria, Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway and others. All countries are making joint efforts to reunite Ukrainian children with their families and ensure their reintegration into families and communities.

It will be recalled that the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Robert Zile, stated that the Russification that took place during the Soviet era was not as terrible as the one carried out by the Russian and Belarusian regimes today, forcibly taking children from Ukrainian families and destroying their roots.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on European politicians to make every effort to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia, as well as to help all children who are victims of this war.