Every morning at 9:00 a.m., Ukraine stops.
Across cities in Ukraine, loudspeakers normally used to warn of incoming
Russian air strikes broadcast the steady tick of a clock.
اضافة اعلان
City streets full of life fall silent.
Traffic lights turn red. Cars stop.
For one minute, a country pauses.
This is Ukraine’s daily moment of silence, a nationwide act of remembrance
for those killed in Russia’s illegal war.
In workplaces, homes, schools, markets
and on highways, Ukrainians pause to honour those who gave their lives defending
their country’s sovereignty and freedom, and remember the thousands of
civilians whose lives have been lost to Russia’s aggression.
The silence also mirrors the absence felt by thousands of families whose
loved ones have yet to come home.
Among them are the thousands of Ukrainian children who 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.
Others are civilians unlawfully detained in territories temporarily
occupied by Russia. Many have suffered consequences for teaching their
language, practicing their culture, speaking out against occupation, or sharing
the truth about what they have witnessed. 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. 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. 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.
Behind every case is a human story: a parent waiting for a child, a
spouse waiting for a phone call, a family waiting for someone to come home.
We know that the true measure of peace is found in these human-centered
stories. It is found in a child returned to their family, a civilian released
from unlawful detention, a prisoner of war reunited with loved ones, and a
community given the chance to heal and rebuild.
The scope of this issue is immense, and no country or organization can
address it alone. Success requires sustained cooperation among governments,
international organizations, humanitarian actors, and civil society.
This is why
Canada, Norway, and Ukraine will convene foreign ministers and international
partners in Toronto on September 28 and 29 for Pathways to Peace: Second International Conference on
Returning Ukrainian Children, Detained Civilians, and Prisoners of War.
Building on the progress made at the Ministerial Conference on the same
topic, hosted by our three countries in Canada in 2024, 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.
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. Every person returned reunites a family. Every family reunited
strengthens a community. And every community prospering helps rebuild Ukraine.
Each morning, millions of Ukrainians pause to remember those who are
gone and those who have yet to return. In their remembrance and with
extraordinary courage and ingenuity, they also repair what Russia has damaged,
care for one another, and strengthen the communities that Russian aggression
has sought to tear apart.
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.
