First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in "Russia's War on Children" international conference in Riga, Latvia, which is a continuation of the Bring Kids Back UA project launched by the President of Ukraine. The event was co-organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Latvia and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Ukraine.
The conference was aimed at drawing the attention of the world community and international organizations to the abduction and forced deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia, which is an element of the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
The participants of the event discussed ways to develop transparent mechanisms for finding and returning children, as well as collecting evidence to bring to justice those responsible for this crime: from the head of the terrorist state to all perpetrators.
International humanitarian law qualifies the mass forced deportation of children during a conflict as a war crime, and the purpose of the conference is to actively tell the world about the fate of abducted young Ukrainians and Russia's crimes against them for everyone who can to take measures to prevent new crimes and help Ukraine return its children, Olena Zelenska said in her speech.
"There are ways for the international community to provide legal assistance to Ukraine. First of all, it is the joint development of a transparent mechanism for the return of children, which should be based on the relevant UN General Assembly resolution. And the direct participation of countries in the negotiations as mediators, because the terrorist state refuses to negotiate with Ukraine," the President's wife noted.
The First Lady emphasized that the Geneva Convention contains a provision under which return can take place both to the territory of the child's state of nationality and to the territory of states that are not parties to the conflict.
"And the countries of the Baltic region, which are geographically close to the aggressor, can be such countries. All these are mechanisms, and Ukraine hopes for active participation of partners in them," she added.
Olena Zelenska told the audience about the story of abducted 17-year-old Bohdan Yermokhin, whose return was facilitated by Qatar and UNICEF. She urged the conference participants to take this story as an example of how every country and international organization can work together with Ukraine to return children.
"We will fight for each of our abducted children, no matter how many resources it takes. And I hope that you have gathered here for the same reason – to find a way to speed up this return. Because I am convinced that there is no more noble way for adults to use their influence, power, and resources than to save children," the wife of the President of Ukraine summarized.
The conference was attended by high-ranking Latvian officials: President Edgars Rinkēvičs, President and First Lady in 2019-2023 Egils Levits and Andra Levite, President in 1999-2007 Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Deputy Speaker and Member of the Parliament Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševiča, as well as Vice-President of the European Parliament Robert Zīle, Member of the European Parliament Sandra Kalniete; international human rights activists: American lawyer, writer and human rights activist Kerry Kennedy, expert of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, fellow at the Norwegian Academy of International Law Cecilie Hellestveit, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, diplomats, representatives of non-governmental organizations and journalists.
