Montreal summit ends with pledge to return Ukrainian children deported
to Russia
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[November 01, 2024]
MONTREAL (AP) — More than 45 nations signed a pledge in Montreal
on Thursday to repatriate to Ukraine the civilians, prisoners of war and
children taken by Russia since it invaded the country.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the countries agreed
to coordinate efforts to gather information about Ukrainians held in
Russia and to create safe pathways for their return. |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, center, flanked by Ukraine
Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, left, and Canada's Minister
of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, gives opening remarks during a plenary
session for the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of
Ukraine's 10-Point Peace Formula, in Montreal Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (Christinne
Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP) |
“Human lives must be protected. Children, civilians and
prisoners of war must be allowed to return home,” she said
during a press conference at the close of a two-day summit on
the human dimension of the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said nearly
42,000 Ukrainians are missing, and that almost 20,000 children
have been deported to Russia. He said 860 Ukrainian children
have been returned home to date.
Joly said Thursday’s joint declaration will help co-ordinate
existing efforts to locate missing Ukrainians. She said Qatar,
South Africa and the Holy See have agreed to act as
intermediaries to negotiate the return of prisoners of war,
civilians and children. Lithuania and Qatar will act as transit
countries for Ukrainians who are released.
Officials did not release a list of the more than 70 countries
who sent delegations to Montreal this week, and it was unclear
which countries had signed the pledge as of Thursday evening.
But several major players were not present, including China,
India and Brazil. Mexico and South Africa did attend the
conference.
Joly said many countries felt “direct pressure from Russia” not
to attend the summit. “Russia made many representations in many
capitals of the world saying that they should not come to
Montreal,” she said. “It shows that what we’re doing is shedding
light on an issue that embarrasses Russia.”
The ICC previously issued arrest warrants for both Russian
President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner,
Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of the war crimes of unlawful
deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from
occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. Moscow has rejected the
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