Ministers join forces to help returning prisoners of war and deported children back to Ukraine

Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, has taken part in a conference in Canada aimed at developing a concrete plan for the return of prisoners of war, deported civilians, including children back to Ukraine in line with international human rights and humanitarian law principles. Hosted in Montreal by Canada, together with Norway and Ukraine on 30 and 31 October, the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine's 10-Point Peace Formula also addressed approaches for post-return rehabilitation and reintegration for Ukrainian returnees.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge emphasised that since Russia's full-scale invasion, the Council of Europe has supported Ukraine in every way possible. "We are acting to ensure accountability for Russia's crimes, including through the Register of Damage for Ukraine and judgments from the European Court of Human Rights which have found a range of human rights violations by the Russian Federation and made clear the need for measures including the safe return of prisoners transferred from Crimea to penal facilities located in Russia. As the fate of unlawfully deported Ukrainian children is especially compelling, we must together ensure that the children are returned to their families."

The event was opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Olha Stefanishyna and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha and the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.

The programme included testimonies of returned or affected persons, including prisoners of war, detained civilians, and deported children. The first Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and World Famous Tennis Player and "Bring Kids Back UA" Elina Svitolina, were keynote speakers.

On the margin of the conference, the Deputy Secretary General led discussions with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andryi Yermak, and several Ministers of Foreign Affairs, including Mélanie Joly (Canada), Espen Barth (Norway), Arnoldo André Tinoco (Costa Rica) and Olushegun Adjada Bakari (Benin).

The event aimed at advancing the common vision articulated by the Joint Communiqué on a Peace Framework developed at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced Ukraine's 10-Point Peace Formula in November 2022 at the G20 summit in Indonesia.In August 2023, ten working groups were established, each dedicated to a specific pillar of the 10-point Peace Formula. Canada, along with Norway, are co-chairs of Working Group 4, which focuses on the return of prisoners of war, detained civilians, and illegally transferred and deported children.