France and Canada co-develop road map for repatriation of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

The French and Canadian foreign ministers, Jean-Noël Barrot and Melanie Joly, have pledged to create a "road map" with specific actions during the upcoming ministerial conference on human rights, to be held in Montreal in late October, to ensure the safe return of Ukrainian children whom Russia has abducted.

The joint statement from both diplomatic agencies evidence this, according to Ukrinform.

They also reiterated their strong condemnation of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and reaffirmed their loyal support for Ukraine and its citizens.

"The ministerial conference on the human dimension of the 10-point peace formula for Ukraine in Montreal on October 30-31 will provide an opportunity to work together to achieve these goals, in particular, to develop a road map with concrete measures for the return home of Ukrainian children who became victims of Russia's aggressive war," the text of the statement reads.

The French and Canadian Foreign Ministers are urging the international community to remember the Ukrainian children, who have already been impacted by the war and whose current and future well-being is at stake.

"We condemn war crimes, murders, and sexual violence committed against Ukrainian children, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as forced illegal transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children. We demand that Russia return Ukrainian children to their families, legal guardians, and communities," the statement emphasized.

The parties undertake to support efforts and mediation to return Ukrainian children, which are being carried out under the co-chairmanship of Canada and Ukraine and with the support of France.

"We will also continue to support the reception and protection of Ukrainian children and their access to all basic services, health care, and education," the communique said.

France, in particular, promised to "increase its financial support to several civil society actors and the United Nations to achieve these goals."

The ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine and its people to provide them with all means for self-defense and to put an end to Russian aggression.

For reference:

The Parliamentary Network on the Situation with Ukrainian Children, created on the PACE platform, held its first meeting during the autumn session of the Assembly in Strasbourg.

The network aims to solve the issue of the return of deported children, address the problems of children in the temporarily occupied territories, and ensure the access of evacuated children to education and health care. The network includes 46 members from each PACE member state.

As of August 2024, 19,546 deported and forcibly displaced children have been identified. The study "(Non)return of children: Ukraine facing the biggest challenge since independence" is an analysis of what happens to deported children in Russia, how they are returned, and what algorithms the state should develop.

It is worth mentioning that during the October 2023 meeting of advisors on national security and foreign policy, Canadian representatives suggested the idea of forming a coalition of nations to assist in bringing back Ukrainian children who were deported by the aggressor country.

Japan joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

Also, the United States of America officially became a member state of the coalition, which advocates for the safe return to Ukraine of children illegally deported and displaced by the Russian Federation during the war.

It should be added that the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children already includes 37 countries, and recently, Argentina also joined it.