"Today marks four years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine has rightfully defended its independence and territorial integrity. Among the many victims and casualties of this unprovoked war of aggression, one group in particular stands out: the Ukrainian children.
"For every nation, its children are a sacred and inviolate pledge of continued future existence. The future of a nation's children should never be held hostage by ideological or partisan political fights, let alone be a deliberate target of a military campaign or a state-administered program with the aim to change their identity.
"The systematic targeting, forced displacement, and unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children strike at the very foundation of the nation's survival. Not only have hundreds of Ukrainian children been killed by the indiscriminate Russian attacks directed at the civilian population of Ukraine, but hundreds of thousands have also been displaced, often subsisting in precarious conditions. Approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children have fallen victim to forced transfer to Russia. This figure is not final, as investigations and analysis by the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities continue.
"The deliberate and systematic abductions of the Ukrainian children by the Russian authorities constitute grave violations of the most basic principles of humanity and international law. These documented violations against Ukrainian children increase the responsibility of the Russian Federation in the eyes of the international community and demand sustained attention, action, and justice. The international community has a cogent responsibility to speak clearly and consistently about these war crimes, insofar as silence on the issue of the abductions of the Ukrainian children normalizes this inhumane practice, and equivocation diminishes accountability of the perpetrators.
"Therefore we, Governing Council Members of the Community of Democracies (Albania, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom), standing in solidarity with Ukraine and its people:
"- reaffirm that the protection of children in armed conflict is not optional, negotiable, or political-it is a shared and urgent moral obligation, and a binding legal duty under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including its prohibitions on the unlawful transfer, deportation, and separation of children from their families
"- call on all the nations to exercise pressure on the Russian Federation to return the abducted Ukrainian children to their homeland and families in Ukraine"
