“Right now it is extremely important to place pressure on Russia at a global scale. We need to be sure that our partners understand how Russia is continuing to wage war against civilians, children and the national identity of Ukrainians,” Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said at the international conference Russia’s War on Children.

The Deputy Speaker of the Saeima noted that the issue is especially important and urgent due to the exceptional vulnerability of children who are currently suffering the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica emphasised that both PACE and the Parliament of Latvia have especially urged for the active engagement of the UN and the International Red Cross to return kidnapped Ukrainian children back to their families as quickly and as safely as possible.

Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica noted the achievements of PACE, including the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the organisation, the establishment of a register of damage caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine, adoption of resolutions in support of the children of Ukraine, as well as calls issued to other international organisations to facilitate the identification and repatriation of Ukrainian children who have been deported or forcibly transferred.

The international conference Russia’s War on Children took place at the National Library of Latvia, and the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima took part in the discussion panel “What is done and what can be done? Accountability and awareness”. At the conference Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica represented the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe upon the request of its President Theodoros Rousopoulos.

The First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska also took part in the conference. The participants of the conference discussed ways to hold perpetrators legally and politically accountable. The aim of the conference was to promote social awareness of the kidnapping of children by Russia and pool together international support to ensure that Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia are returned home and reunited with their families.

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Saeima Press Service