OSCE PA joins Intl Coalition for Return of Ukrainian Children

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, and the head of the President’s Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, welcomed this decision.

“At Istanbul OSCE PA Autumn Meeting, parliamentarians push for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, while President Pere Joan Pons Sampietro announces the Assembly’s decision to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children,” the OSCE said on the social network X on Monday evening.

Yermak commented on this event: “Important decision of OSCE PA to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children following the OSCE PA visit to Ukraine and meeting with President of Ukraine in October,” he said on social network X.

According to him, “this strengthens our international Coalition working to return every Ukrainian child forcibly deported by russia.”

Yermak also welcomed the activities of the OSCE PA Special Envoy on the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children by the Russian side, Carina Ödebrink.

“We are grateful to President Joan Pons Sampietro for his leadership and solidarity. Together, we will bring all our children home,” Yermak added.

As reported, OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons Sampietro announced the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's plans to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children during his speech at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on October 7, while in Kyiv.

He emphasized that Ukraine defends universal values ​​and opposes the aggressor, who violates international law, the Geneva Conventions, and democratic principles.

The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children already includes 44 countries. Eight coalition member countries are launching a data collection mechanism on all children abducted and removed from Ukraine by Russia.

The OSCE's participation in the coalition can strengthen international coordination, expedite the return of children, and ensure accountability for child rights violations committed during the aggression against Ukraine.