OSCE PA's decision to join Coalition for Return of Ukrainian Children will promote Russia's accountability – MFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the decision of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and notes the importance of this step in ensuring that the Russian Federation is held accountable for the crimes it has committed.
"The Assembly's active and principled position on the return of abducted and illegally deported Ukrainian children will play a significant role in consolidating global efforts to end these criminal practices and ensure the inevitability of Russia's accountability," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that this was the result of the visit to Ukraine on October 7-8 by OSCE PA President Pere Juan Pons Sampietro and his meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
As of November 2025, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Ukraine and Canada, comprises over 40 countries, as well as the European Union and the Council of Europe. As part of the Ukrainian President's initiative, Bring Kids Back UA has already succeeded in returning over 1,700 Ukrainian children illegally removed or deported from the Russian Federation to Ukraine.
As reported on Monday, the OSCE PA has joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons Sampietro earlier announced such plans during his speech at a session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on October 7. He emphasized that Ukraine defends universal values and opposes an aggressor that violates international law, the Geneva Conventions, and democratic principles.
The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children already includes 44 countries. Eight coalition member countries are launching a data collection mechanism on all children abducted and removed from Ukraine by Russia.
The OSCE's participation in the coalition can strengthen international coordination, expedite the return of children, and ensure accountability for child rights violations committed during the aggression against Ukraine.