The event “Life without Borders: Honouring the memory of children lost in war”
“It is always the youngest who suffer the most from war – our children. They will carry the sounds of artillery, drones, explosions, air raid sirens with them throughout their lives. Destroyed houses, schools, kindergartens, playgrounds and parks are the destroyed childhood that the war cruelly steals from Ukrainian children,” the Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko started the side event at 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, speeches were delivered by representatives of Canada, Mexico, Tanzania, Malawi, Finland, Ireland, Uganda, Norway, and the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco.
“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,” the First Vice-Speaker said.
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.
“Children did not start the war. It caught them in their warm beds when they had to immediately get ready and hide from the explosions. Then they asked: “What’s going on?”. Now, at their very young age, my children can tell where the air defence system is working and where an enemy missile has hit,” the First Vice Speaker shared during the event.
In addition, he stressed that the occupiers are illegally and forcibly deporting young Ukrainians to their territories: “The world must realise that this is a sign of genocide. And we must act to bring them back home and to their parents.” Oleksandr Korniienko noted that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s Peace Formula includes a clause on the release of prisoners of war and deportees – absolutely everyone, including children.
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. At the same time, Oleksandr Merezhko noted that representatives of other countries present at the event expressed their outrage at the crimes committed by russians against children and called for an end to russian aggression, which is the cause of suffering for children and civilians in Ukraine.
“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, speaking of numbers, the 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 only the number of confirmed cases.
“Behind this number there is a separate individual story of a stolen childhood and a destroyed life,” said Lesia Vasylenko.
She also stressed that the Ukrainian delegation called for joining the initiative of the Office of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA and reminded of the fourth point of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, which provides for the release of all captured and deported Ukrainians.
“It is in our power to establish such security and peace that no children become new victims of war,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, expressing his gratitude to all the present representatives of the countries and participants of the event for their involvement in this important topic.
At the end of the event, the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation presented the audience with the book “War in the Voices of Children”, which contains up to a hundred quotes illustrated by designers, artists, photographers and other famous people from around the world. The books donated by the delegates will be sent to at least 40 parliaments around the world: from Mexico to Kenya and from Switzerland to Thailand.
For reference. On 23-27 October, a 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 Luanda, the capital of Angola.
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.