Honourable chairman, vice-chairman and members of the subcommittee, members of Parliament and the international community, and colleagues, thank you for inviting Save the Children to speak today on such an important and complex issue as the forcible transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.
The best place for children is with their families and their communities. In a humanitarian crisis, there is so much upheaval and uncertainty for children that it can be difficult to know if a child has an existing family, and even if they don't, it could be traumatic to move them out of the country and culture that they are familiar with.
That is why Save the Children believes efforts must be made to reunite unaccompanied children with their family members. All means should be used to trace and unite unaccompanied children with their families and local communities, accounting for their best interests.
We don't know the exact number of children affected by the forced transfers from Ukraine to Russia since February 2022. A range of numbers have been provided by the officials in Russia and Ukraine, who reference from 2,000 children to 20,000 confirmed cases respectively.
We know that some of these children are in Russia. Some of them are in non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. Some of the children have come from institutions and some not, which complicates the understanding of the guardianship of these children and the reunification mechanisms.
This is a complex situation that requires complex solutions and clear prioritization of the needs of the children in line with the principle of their best interests.
Although we cannot say for certain the scale of the issue and how many children have been affected, we do know that as time passes, the situation becomes increasingly complex for every single child. Canada can play a big role in finding a solution. The cases of many of these children may be complicated, but that does not absolve anyone of the responsibility. It is crucial to support accountability efforts and ensure that all accountability mechanisms include child expertise.
As accountability processes continue, diplomatic efforts must be directed towards finding solutions and protection for these children in the meantime. To date, the most effective way to reunite children with their families in Ukraine has been through the grassroots efforts of civil society organizations. They help families trace their children and help the parents and legal guardians to take a long and dangerous journey to Russia or to non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine to bring back children themselves. We know how long, difficult and sometimes unsuccessful these processes can be, since Save the Children supports such initiatives through our partners on the ground.
Given the absence of political dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, the mechanism of transferring children cannot be regulated, and legal measures for the return of children deported will remain ad hoc and limited in effectiveness and skill. Technical dialogue between ombuds institutions and relevant ministries in Ukraine and Russia needs to be established as a matter of urgency to fulfill children's rights and facilitate reunification with their legal guardians.
However, we understand that there may be a long wait for Ukraine and Russia to establish direct dialogue on this issue, and this is time that children don't have. Canada can play a role in finding a third country to facilitate the reunification process. We need to help find the states that would be able to promote further dialogue on this issue. We have seen successful cases of negotiating prisoner-of-war exchanges by third parties as well as the recent return of several children from Russia to Ukraine facilitated by Qatar.
I would like to again stress the importance of accounting for the best interests of the child during the processes of return and reunification. Serving the best interests of the child is only possible when we examine every single case. In order to do that, a centralized tracking and information management system is needed to ensure the whereabouts, guardianship status and well-being of each child.
International donors can prioritize funding child protection and tracing to support the restoration of family ties.
In closing, I would like to again thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I welcome any future opportunities to speak on this issue.
Thank you.