On 30-31 October, the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula took place in Montreal, Canada, with the participation of Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, other Ukrainian officials, and high-level representatives of more than 70 states and international organizations.

Following the Conference, the participants adopted a Joint Communiqué. The main focus of the communiqué is to agree on the Montreal Commitment. The document reflects the unity of principles of the participating countries, confirms unequivocal support for Ukraine's victory and condemns states that facilitate Russia's aggressive actions.

On the sidelines of the Conference, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took part in a number of high-level thematic discussions and held bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Albania, Benin, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Norway and Switzerland.

During the talks, the minister drew attention to the lack of effectiveness of international humanitarian law in ensuring adequate protection for Ukrainian prisoners. He stressed the need to find ways to force Russia to comply with the Geneva Conventions and the Vienna Convention in particular.

On the first day of the visit, the Minister held important meetings with the Ukrainian community in Montreal, leaders of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and the ICAO leadership.

During the Conference, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister chaired the third working session, ‘Mechanisms that Multiply Returns’. He stated the need to create mechanisms that will compensate for the shortcomings of the current international system, ensure the return of prisoners of war and forcibly deported children, and guarantee that perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes.

‘We must make every effort to ensure that international mechanisms for the return of prisoners of war, civilians and children finally become fully operational. Allies must impose effective sanctions against those who ignore and sabotage international law. Such actions should not only be condemned, but also punished,’ the Minister said.

During the final high-level panel discussion, the Foreign Minister stressed that the Conference participants had identified the necessary tools to make the return of Ukrainian prisoners more efficient, structured, massive and safe. 

Andrii Sybiha stressed that Russian aggression has global consequences and concerns not only Ukraine. He added that wherever military and civilians are tortured, children suffer, children are abducted and their lives are destroyed, it must be stopped immediately.

In his speech at the final press conference, the Minister informed the audience about Russia's destructive activities in a number of capitals to disrupt the Conference. The Foreign Minister stressed that this is evidence of the importance and urgency of the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war, illegally detained civilians and forcibly deported children.

At the end of his speech, Andrii Sybiha summed up the results of the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension and stressed that Ukraine had achieved concrete results that many Ukrainian families are waiting for.

‘We have specific commitments. We have created a network of partner countries that have promised to provide us with practical assistance to speed up the return of prisoners of war, civilians and forcibly deported children,’ he said.

The minister stressed that thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war, civilian hostages and forcibly deported children are being held in Russia right now. Moscow is denying international observers and medics proper access to them, as guaranteed by international law, and existing international instruments, unfortunately, cannot protect the rights of our people.

He added that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy`s team is constantly working to bring our people back and ensure that they are treated properly. 

‘As a result of the negotiations, one of the states expressed its readiness to become a Protecting State under the Geneva Conventions to help Ukrainians in Russia. We are working to make this possible,’ he added.

The Foreign Minister expressed his deep gratitude to the countries that have agreed to mediate negotiations with Russia on the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war, civilians and children. The Minister stressed that such countries would become a ‘safe way home’ for our compatriots.

Andrii Sybiha expressed special gratitude to his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly for her hospitality, dedication to the return of Ukrainian children and leadership in the successful holding of the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula.