Canada to lead international coalition to facilitate return of Ukrainian children

This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office.

On November 20, during the international conference United for Justice. War Crimes against Ukrainian Children in Toronto, the introduction of new mechanisms to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children was discussed.

"At the conference, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly emphasized that Canada would cooperate with Ukraine in the implementation of the 4th point of the Peace Formula, dedicated to the return of all prisoners and deportees. She also stated that Canada is ready to lead a coalition of countries together with Ukraine to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children," said Andriy Kostin.

The statement says that the Prosecutor General's Office, together with international partners, is collecting and analyzing all available evidence that may indicate genocidal intent of such crimes in accordance with the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

In particular, the Prosecutor General said that Ukraine should "draw the attention of the international community to the fact that genocide is being committed in the heart of Europe.”

"To do this, it is necessary to collect enough evidence to enable the International Criminal Court to make a fair decision. This is the focus of our ongoing work with partners, including the ICC Prosecutor's Office," Kostin explained.

The conference also discussed the issue of confiscation of the aggressor state’s sovereign assets.

Kostin emphasized that there is already a certain element of political will among partner countries to resolve this issue. Ukraine is currently strengthening cooperation in this area with partners from Canada, the United States and the European Union.

"Russia must pay now for all the damage it has caused to Ukrainians and Ukraine during this aggressive war," the Prosecutor General summarized.

• On October 21, three more Ukrainian children abducted by Russians during the occupation of Ukraine's regions were returned home.