On the sidelines of the meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children held in Kyiv on 08 December 2023, Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor - Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation, and Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, officially inked a Memorandum of Cooperation.
The Memorandum stands as a testament to the collective dedication to safeguarding the rights of children affected by Russia's armed aggression.
The International Renaissance Foundation founded by the famous American philanthropist George Soros and part of the Open Society Foundations, undertakes to comprehensively help Ukraine and promote the implementation of the Bring Kids Back UA plan, in particular, in the issue of the return of children illegally deported and forcibly displaced to Russia.
The Chairman of the Board of the Open Society Foundations Aleksander Soros voiced his full support in all steps of the implementation of the Bring Kids Back UA plan approved by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During the signing of the document, Oleksandr Sushko confirmed: "We understand the difficult, sometimes impossible, efforts required to return Ukrainian children. And our Foundation is ready to join the implementation of key directions within the framework of the Bring Kids Back UA plan and achieve the main goal — that all Ukrainian children return home."
The key areas of cooperation with Open Society Foundations and International Renaissance Foundation focus on measures to return children, promoting family-based care, ensuring reintegration and educational initiatives, supporting projects that protect children's rights.
"We continue to combine our efforts and intellectual resources to achieve the main goal - to return all Ukrainian children home. This is an important area of joint action for the protection of our children!", said Daria Herasymchuk.
As the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak concluded, "We are glad to see that such influential and authoritative organizations as the Open Society Foundations and the International Renaissance Foundation are joining the implementation of the action plan of the President of Ukraine "Bring Kids Back UA". This shows that the tasks that we set before 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."