On February 15, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba took part in a ministerial conference to launch the "Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations" supported by 52 countries.

The main goal of this Canada’s initiative is to rally like-minded countries of the world committed to international law and human rights to build a collective global response to coercive diplomacy.

In his speech before the conference participants, Dmytro Kuleba drew attention to an acute problem of arbitrary arrests in Crimea and parts of Donbas, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation: “Currently, about 100 Ukrainians are detained and imprisoned in Russia and in Crimea on politically motivated charges. Politically motivated persecution of the citizens of Ukraine on fabricated charges has become a routine practice of the occupying power. We consider this Declaration an important additional tool to make the Russian Federation fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, free all Ukrainian citizens arbitrarily arrested and illegally imprisoned by Russia, protect victims and prevent further human rights violations”.

The Minister drew attention to Ukraine’s initiative of the "Crimean Platform" aiming to consolidate international efforts to de-occupy Crimea, and invited the audience to take part in its inaugural Summit this year.

“International solidarity played a significant role in our effort to achieve the release of dozens of political prisoners from Russian captivity. We should remain united and speak vocally. Consolidated action and joint pressure remain key factors in the further release of our political prisoners,” said Minister Kuleba.

Background: In October 2020, Canada initiated the " Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations", whose purpose was to "create a global collective response to coercive diplomacy".

Up until now, the initiative has been supported by 52 countries.