Canada, Ukraine and Norway to hold conference in Toronto on returning Ukrainians
Canada, Ukraine and Norway will hold an international conference in Toronto, Canada, on September 28 and 29 on the return of Ukrainian children, civilians held by Russia, the aggressor state, as well as prisoners of war. This was reported by Global News Canada.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced the two-day event. The conference is titled “Pathways to Peace: Second International Conference on the Return of Ukrainian Children, Detained Civilians and Prisoners of War.”
Foreign ministers, senior government officials and representatives of international organizations are expected to take part in the event.
Conference objectives
Canada, Ukraine and Norway seek to strengthen international support for efforts to return people, protect those who remain under Russian control, and ensure the rehabilitation and reintegration of those returned. Participants will discuss strengthening searches and information exchange, as well as mechanisms for returning people to Ukraine.
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Separate topics will include humanitarian access to people who remain under Russian control and the possibility of maintaining their contact with their families.
Data on children and prisoners
According to the Canadian government, Ukrainian authorities have documented 20,651 cases of possible illegal deportation or forced displacement of Ukrainian children by Russia. A total of 2,573 children have already been returned from deportation, forced displacement and temporarily occupied territories.
As of June, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that Russia was illegally holding 1,878 civilians. Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the actual number may be significantly higher: some civil society organizations estimate it at up to 20,000 people.
Ukraine does not disclose the exact number of prisoners of war held by Russia. At the same time, according to Canada’s foreign ministry, as of August, 9,529 Ukrainian military personnel and civilians had been returned from Russian captivity.
