Canada will co-chair an international coalition aimed at repatriating Ukrainian children “deported, forcibly transferred or displaced” to Russia or territories controlled by Russia since the start of the war. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made the announcement on Friday during a surprise visit to kyiv.
“Canada will use its diplomatic network to be able to present and defend these children’s cases, but we will also work with certain countries that have direct contacts with Russia,” explained Minister Joly.
Ottawa will send consular officers to Ukraine to provide technical expertise to target deported children and coordinate efforts to reunite them with their families. By drawing international attention to this issue, Canada hopes to rally several partners within the Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and build ties with countries that could act as mediators with the Putin regime.
According to official Ukrainian government data, at least 19,546 Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia. However, this number could be much higher, since it is difficult to obtain information from the territories occupied by Russia. Only 388 children were able to be repatriated to Ukraine.
Adopted by Russian families
Russia says it welcomes these children on its territory for humanitarian or security reasons. Since the start of the war almost two years ago, several Ukrainian children were adopted by Russian families, others were taken to Russia for medical reasons and some went to Russian holiday camps but did not return.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other things, adopted a decree on May 30, 2022 facilitating the adoption of Ukrainian children and offering them a simplified process to obtain Russian nationality.
Last March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children’s rights to the president of the Russian Federation, who are alleged to have committed crimes of war by illegally deporting and transferring Ukrainian children.
A Canadian government working paper states that “many children taken to Russia are exposed to pro-Russian disinformation campaigns and military education, and all are kept away from their language, customs and family “.
Unwavering support
In kyiv, Minister Joly met on Friday with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kouleba. She was also scheduled to meet the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and speak with organizations that support victims of sexual and gender-based violence and war-related trauma.
“Our support for Ukraine’s independent future remains unwavering,” said Minister Joly. “Ukraine supporters will stay the course; we cannot afford to lose confidence or waver, not even for a moment. »
Canada has still not signed a formal bilateral security commitment for Ukraine. Negotiations have been ongoing for months over how much Ottawa will commit to help secure the country.
Minister Dmytro Kouleba welcomed Ottawa’s support, saying “Canada is one of our closest friends.” He said negotiations on a security engagement were going well and were not clouded by diplomatic niceties. “We can discuss things, in essence, in a very sincere and open way,” he said.
With Boris Proulx and The Canadian Press