Canada, Norway and Ukraine to host conference on returning Ukrainian children and prisoners

TORONTO — Canada, Norway and Ukraine will convene foreign ministers and international partners in Toronto later this month for a conference aimed at returning Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war taken by Russia.

The Pathways to Peace conference will be held on Sept. 28 and 29, the Ukrainian ambassador to Egypt wrote in an opinion piece.

Mykola Nagorny said the event will build on progress made at a ministerial conference hosted by the three countries in Canada in 2024.

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"Their return is a humanitarian imperative and critical to any peace process, helping to build trust and lay the groundwork of a just, lasting and dignified peace," Nagorny wrote.

The conference will bring international partners together to support Ukraine’s efforts to return, rehabilitate and reintegrate Ukrainian deported children, detained civilians, and prisoners of war.

Nagorny described the daily moment of silence observed across Ukraine, where loudspeakers normally used to warn of incoming Russian air strikes broadcast the steady tick of a clock.

He said this nationwide act of remembrance honours those killed defending Ukraine's sovereignty and freedom, and remembers the thousands of civilians whose lives have been lost.

"The silence also mirrors the absence felt by thousands of families whose loved ones have yet to come home," he wrote.

He said thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred and unlawfully deported by Russia over the course of its war.

"Separated from their families and communities, many have had parts of their core identity stripped away: their language, their culture, and even their names," Nagorny wrote.

Others are civilians unlawfully detained in territories temporarily occupied by Russia, he wrote.

"Many have suffered consequences for teaching their language, practicing their culture, speaking out against occupation, or sharing the truth about what they have witnessed," he said.

He said some have been transferred to detention facilities in Russia, where they are held without due process, denied contact with loved ones, deprived of adequate medical care, and shielded from independent monitoring.

For Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian custody, conditions remain similarly concerning, Nagorny said.

He said returnees have reported harsh treatment, while independent bodies have documented widespread abuse, including torture and sexual violence.

"These are not side effects of Russia’s war," Nagorny wrote. "Russia’s actions are repeated and well-documented violations of international law, carried out at scale, in an attempt to bend the will of the Ukrainian people."

He said the scope of the issue is immense and that no country or organization can address it alone.

"Success requires sustained cooperation among governments, international organizations, humanitarian actors, and civil society," he wrote.

Nagorny expressed hope the conference will mobilize the international community not only to pause with Ukraine in remembrance, but to act alongside it.

"It is our hope that Pathways to Peace will mobilize the international community not only to pause with Ukraine in remembrance, but to act alongside it to help bring home every deported child, detained civilian, and prisoner of war," he wrote.

The conference is titled the Second International Conference on Returning Ukrainian Children, Detained Civilians, and Prisoners of War.

With files from Daily News Egypt