Toronto conference issues joint pledge on Ukrainians held by Russia

Participants in the September 28–29 Toronto conference issued a joint pledge on returning Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war. The communiqué acknowledges limited and uneven progress. [4]

Commitments to implement

More than 50 countries signed a pledge to strengthen their efforts, The Canadian Press reports. That diplomatic commitment is not a new tally of people released. [6]

Anita Anand announced an additional C$863,000 on September 28 for Ukrainian organizations helping children who have returned from captivity and their families, The Canadian Press reports. [3]

New support announced

The announcement brings Canadian funding for these efforts to C$7 million, The Canadian Press reports; it is not a tally of new releases. [3]

Separate Norwegian support

Norway announces 15 million Norwegian kroner for tracing missing children and supporting their reintegration within a 132 million kroner contribution to UNICEF. It also plans 10 million for the ICRC tracing bureau and 90 million for its humanitarian operations in Ukraine. [5]

Obstacles remain

The communiqué stresses identification, humanitarian access and support after return. It does not describe an established, predictable mechanism for releasing civilians. [4]