The third day of work on the sidelines of the 147th IPU Assembly: Ukrainian parliamentary delegation headed by the First Deputy Speaker held a number of meetings and took part in committee sessions

On 23-27 October, the Ukrainian delegation headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko is on a working visit to the Republic of Angola.

On the third day of the meeting, on the sidelines of the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Ukrainian delegates held a number of important meetings, participated in IPU committees, and held an additional event and exhibition opening to commemorate Ukrainian children and their war stories.

Meetings of the Ukrainian delegation with representatives of Angola and Iraq

During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Tete Antonio, the parties discussed a number of important topics, including the security situation in Ukraine, opportunities for cooperation, food security, russia’s obstruction of Ukrainian grain exports, and the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. “Every decision and action to support our country is a contribution to the victory that will ensure global security and stability,” said the First Vice Speaker, expressing hope for deeper cooperation.

During a meeting with the First Deputy President of the National Assembly of Angola, Antonio Cuononoca, Oleksandr Korniienko expressed gratitude for the support of the resolution “Territorial integrity of Ukraine: defence of the principles of the UN Charter”. At the same time, he invited the Angolan side to consider the possibility of establishing a group of deputies for interparliamentary relations with Ukraine in the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola.

“I had a warm meeting with the First Vice President of the National Assembly of Angola. He knows a lot about Ukraine and mentioned the ties between our countries, which was very nice,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegates held a working meeting with representatives of the Republic of Iraq. The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine informed his colleagues about the current situation in Ukraine and thanked them for supporting important resolutions in the UN. The parties also discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The Ukrainian parliamentary delegation invited its Iraqi counterparts to participate in the Second International Summit on Food Security.

Events on the sidelines of the 147th IPU Assembly

While participating in the meeting of the IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs, the member of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi stressed the inability of the UN to cope with armed conflicts on the planet, which, unfortunately, are increasing. He also noted the need to restore order with the participation of the russian federation instead of the ussr in this organisation, expand the UN Security Council with representatives of the Global South and redesign the veto power so that no country could paralyse the work of the UN.

“A year ago, these ideas seemed like romantic fantasies. But now the President of the United States is talking about such changes, and the President of Ukraine is taking concrete steps at the UN Security Council meeting,” he stressed, adding that this is not an easy path, but a very realistic one.

Lesia Vasylenko, the member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, took part in a meeting of the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, which was working on finalising the draft resolution on trafficking in children from orphanages for voting at the plenary session this Friday, 27 October. She emphasised that all seven amendments submitted by the Ukrainian delegation were accepted, including those on greater attention to the issue of child trafficking in war zones and armed conflicts, on deportation as another form of child trafficking, and on bringing perpetrators, including heads of state, to justice.

“In defence of the amendments, I took an active part in the debates in the Committee on Human Rights and Democracy. There was also russian propaganda that had to be refuted,” said the Ukrainian MP, noting that russia began its aggression in 2014, and in 2022, it escalated to a full-scale war.

“The practice of deportation and further russification of Ukrainian children by russia is nothing less than an element of genocide,” emphasised Lesia Vasylenko, calling on the member states of the Assembly to respect their obligations under Article Two of the International Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, namely, “to intervene and put pressure on the aggressor to unconditionally stop this shameful crime and return all our children to their true home.”

“War in the Voices of Children” and “Life without Borders: Honouring the memory of children lost in war”

On the third day of the 147th IPU Assembly, the official opening of the exhibition “War through the Voices of Children” took place on the sidelines of the 147th IPU Assembly, with the participation of the Ukrainian delegation and the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco.

The First Deputy Speaker said that to mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, a book entitled “War in the Voices of Children” was published, which contains up to a hundred quotes illustrated by designers, artists, photographers and other famous people from around the world.

The exhibition features nearly 20 images from the book, including those by illustrators Nikita Titov, Olexandr Hrekhov, Iryna Vale, singer Jamala and her son Rahman. Some images are accompanied by an audio quote from the child. Using a QR code, you can hear the children’s voices in Ukrainian and English.

“Children have learnt what war is not from stories, films or books, but with their own eyes. We want children to be heard by adults around the world. Adults who have real influence and the ability to stop the war with their decisions and concrete actions,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.

For his part, Oleksandr Sanchenko noted that this is a powerful exhibition designed to draw attention to the deportation and abduction of Ukrainian children by a terrorist country.

At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation organised an additional event within the framework of the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union – “Life without Borders: Honouring the memory of children lost in war”. The purpose of the event is to create a platform for international solidarity and honour the innocent lives of children affected by armed conflict. In addition to Ukrainian parliamentary delegates, representatives of Canada, Mexico, Tanzania, Malawi, Finland, Ireland, Uganda, Norway, and the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco, delivered speeches.

“Delegations from different regions have come together to share their experiences and promote collective action to prevent further losses of young citizens of their countries due to war,” said the First Vice Speaker.

He also said that from the beginning of the full-scale invasion until mid-August 2023, more than 500 children were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. “Every day at least one Ukrainian child dies and at least two are injured as a result of russian aggression,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.

For his part, Oleksandr Merezhko, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, said that the main topic of the speeches at the event was the lives and fates of Ukrainian children during the russian aggression. In particular, representatives of Ukraine spoke about russian crimes against Ukrainian children in the context of international law.

“It was critically important for us to raise the issue of crimes committed by russia against Ukrainian children,” said Lesia Vasylenko, the member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management.

She noted that when talking about numbers, Ukrainian delegates mentioned 504 children killed by russian soldiers, 1,129 wounded, 1,222 missing, and 19,546 Ukrainian children deported by the russian federation. And this is just the number of confirmed cases.

“In Ukraine alone, from the beginning of the full-scale invasion until mid-August 2023, more than 500 children were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. There are even more horrific figures around the world,” said Oleksandr Sanchenko, the MP.

For reference. On 23-27 October, the Ukrainian delegation headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko is on a working visit to the Republic of Angola.

The programme of the visit includes participation of the delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the Angolan capital Luanda.

The parliamentary delegation also includes: the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Youth and Sports Zhan Beleniuk, the Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management Lesia Vasylenko, the Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Olha Rudenko, the Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, the Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Oleksandr Sanchenko, and Dmytro Shpenov, the Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy.

https://www.rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/top_news/242863.html