October 4, 2024 – Paris, France – Global Affairs Canada
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honorable Mélanie Joly, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, today issued the following statement:
“We, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France, Mr. Jean-Noël Barrot, and of Canada, Ms. Mélanie Joly, reaffirm our strongest condemnation of the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine in violation of the law international.
“We recall our commitment to Ukraine and its population to give it the means to defend itself and defeat this Russian aggression. The Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the 10-point peace formula for Ukraine in Montreal on October 30 and 31 will make it possible to work jointly to achieve these objectives and in particular to establish a road map with measures concrete measures to bring home Ukrainian children who are victims of Russia’s war of aggression.
“We call on the international community not to forget the Ukrainian children, whose present and future are terribly affected by this illegal and unjustifiable war. We condemn the war crimes, murders, sexual violence committed against Ukrainian children, attacks on schools, on hospitals, as well as forced illegal transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children.
“We demand that Russia return Ukrainian children to their families, legal guardians and communities. We remain committed to enabling this return and supporting the efforts and mediations undertaken with this objective, including the International Coalition for the Repatriation of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Canada and Ukraine, and supported by France.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the serious and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by Russia in Ukraine. The crimes committed, constituting war crimes or even crimes against humanity, cannot go unpunished. The warrants issued by the International Criminal Court constitute a clear sign in this direction. Together, we will continue to support the work of the Court and the Ukrainian courts so that those responsible for these crimes are brought to justice. There is no peace without justice.
“We will also remain mobilized to support the reception and protection of Ukrainian children, their access to all essential services, health and education. In this sense, we support projects carried out by the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) or even by the Council of Europe (CoE).
“Beyond the amounts already committed by our two countries, we are pleased to announce that France will strengthen its financial support to several civil society actors and the United Nations with a view to these objectives. We also support the action of civil society organizations engaged on the ground in Ukraine for Ukrainians, and salute their exemplary presence, their courage and their dedication. »
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