The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, issued the following statement:
"We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France, Mr. Jean-Noël Barrot, and of Canada, Ms. Mélanie Joly, reaffirm our strongest condemnation of the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine in violation of international law.
"We reiterate our commitment to Ukraine and its people, to give them the means to defend themselves and defeat this Russian aggression. The Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine's 10-Point Peace Formula to be held in Montreal on October 30 and 31 will provide an opportunity to work together to achieve these objectives, and in particular to draw up a roadmap with concrete measures to bring home Ukrainian children who are victims of Russia's war of aggression.
"We call on the international community to not forget Ukrainian children, whose present and future are terribly affected by this illegal and unjustifiable war. We condemn the war crimes, murders and sexual violence committed against Ukrainian children, the attacks on schools and hospitals, and the forced illegal transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children.
"We demand that Russia return Ukrainian children to their families, legal guardians and communities. We remain committed to this return and support efforts and mediation undertaken to this end, including the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Canada and Ukraine, and supported by France.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the serious and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by Russia in Ukraine. The crimes committed, which constitute war crimes and even crimes against humanity, must not go unpunished. The mandates issued by the International Criminal Court are a clear sign of this. Together, we will continue to support the work of the Court and the Ukrainian courts to bring to justice those responsible for these crimes. There can be no peace without justice.
"We will also remain mobilized to support the reception and protection of Ukrainian children, and their access to all essential services, health and education. To this end, we are supporting projects run by the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Council of Europe (CoE).
"In addition to the sums already committed by our two countries, we are pleased to announce that France will be stepping up its financial support to a number of civil society players and to the United Nations in pursuit of these objectives. We also support the action of civil society organizations working on the ground in Ukraine on behalf of Ukrainians, and salute their exemplary presence, courage and dedication."
