Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, and Daria Gerasymchuk, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, in the presence of the Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation at the first meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which took place as part of the implementation of the Presidential Plan Bring Kids Back UA.
This memorandum was signed on behalf of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consolidate joint efforts to protect the rights of children affected by Russia’s armed aggression.
On the occasion of the signing of the memorandum, the Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, Alexander Soros, voiced his full support in all steps of the Bring Kids Back UA plan approved by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This plan also complies with the fourth point of the Ukrainian Formula for Peace regarding the release of all prisoners and deportees.
Therefore, the International Renaissance Foundation, founded by the famous American philanthropist George Soros and part of the Open Society Foundations, is committed to fully assist Ukraine and facilitate the implementation of the Bring Kids Back UA plan, in particular, in the issue of returning children illegally deported and forcibly abducted to Russia.
Oleksandr Sushko confirmed this during the signing of the document: “We understand the difficult, sometimes impossible, efforts required to return Ukrainian children. And our Foundation is ready to join the implementation of key areas within the framework of the Bring Kids Back UA plan and achieve the main goal – to bring all Ukrainian children back home.”
The main areas of cooperation between Ukraine and the Foundation are the implementation of measures for the return of children, promotion of family upbringing, reintegration and educational initiatives, support for child protection projects, as well as inter-parliamentary interaction and other forms of cooperation.
“We continue to combine our efforts and intellectual resources to achieve the main goal of bringing all Ukrainian children home. This is an important area of joint action to protect our children!” said Daria Gerasymchuk.
As Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak summarized, “We are pleased to see that such influential and reputable organizations as the Open Society Foundation and the International Renaissance Foundation are joining the implementation of the Presidential Action Plan “Bring Kids Back UA”. This shows that the tasks we set ourselves cannot be considered a purely Ukrainian problem. The deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children by Russia is a challenge to global security and the human rights system around the world.”
