In October, our Association joined the open letter of public organizations on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s Peace Formula, which will be held in Montreal.
In the document, 61 Ukrainian and foreign public organizations involved in the protection and provision of children’s rights, grossly violated as a result of the Russian aggression, expressed their strong support for the efforts of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, in particular, the initiation of the development of a Roadmap with specific measures to return children home.
Let us recall, that we have previously repeatedly described the corresponding criminal actions of the aggressor in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine.
The document emphasizes that the displacement of Ukrainian children has not become an end in itself for the aggressor state. The aggressor seeks to eradicate their Ukrainian identity and turn them into enemies of their own people. After all, more than 1.5 million Ukrainian children under Russian control are at risk of deportation, are subject to political indoctrination and militarization.
These actions of Russia, the appeal emphasizes, have long-term negative consequences for the physical and mental health of children, pose a threat to the existence of Ukraine and challenge international peace and security.
Russia attacks entire families to prevent the preservation of cultural values and identity from generation to generation.
The document calls on civilized countries of the world to provide Ukraine with all the necessary assistance, including organizational, informational, legal, logistical and financial support, to implement important internal reforms, in particular, to determine the competent authority or working group responsible for the return, rehabilitation and reintegration of children, the creation of a regulatory framework and procedures for assessing the best interests of the child.
Letter call to support the development of a new plan and policy for the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, improving the methodology for collecting, analyzing and storing data on the situation of Ukrainian children taken away by the aggressor, improving the access of children from the occupied territories to Ukrainian education.
