Religious leaders gathered at the Union Buildings to commemorate 1 000 days since the Russia-Ukraine war began last year, calling for the release of 19 500 Ukrainian children illegally captured by Russia.
Those in attendance used the opportunity to pray and call for the release of children and others in the same predicament elsewhere in the world.
President of Ukrainian Association of South Africa, Kateryna Aloshyna, pleaded for their safe return, emphasising the unimaginable loss and suffering these children endure away from their families.
She said: “We pray for the safe return of all 19 500 Ukrainian children who have been forcefully deported by Russia.”
She said prayers extended further to all children around the world who are victims of war and displacement in refugee camps.
“Every child deserves safety, love and protection envisioned in the convention on the rights of the children,” she said.
She pleaded that gathering of religious leaders and communities should serve as a beacon of hope and a call to action for Ukrainian children and others in need.
Ambassador Liubov Abravitova stressed that all children need protection, reminding that each child has the right to life and that children are our future.
She said the children were illegally deported from Ukraine and continue to live daily under Russian reign of missile attacks.
“All children of the world need protection as we today are commemorating the 35th convention of the United Nations (UN) on human rights of children. We want to remind ourselves that each child has the right to life. Children are our future. Let’s act. We call everyone for action. Let's protect children - the future of our universe,” she said.
Rabbi Gilad Friedman condemned child trafficking and mistreatment, urging the world to "let children be children" and raise them without the burden of conflict.
“Our children are the building blocks of the next children and if we can raise our children without ache in their hearts despite the conflicts that they were born into and perhaps we will have an opportunity for peace,” he said.
In a media statement, organisers said: “Russia continues its attacks on civilians, with at least 9,600 deaths, including over 500 children, confirmed by the United Nations. The Russian army has flattened hundreds of cities and villages under the pretext of ‘saving them’."
They added that the International Court of Justice (ICC) ruled on January 31, 2024 that Russia systematically discriminates against the Ukrainian language in occupied territories.
“The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s president over laws enabling forced changes to the identity of 20,000–700,000 Ukrainian children, violating the Genocide Convention. Torture and Executions: UN reports confirm 95% of Ukrainian POWs face torture, with executions of disarmed soldiers becoming common,” they said.
They also said South Africa must recognise that Russia “with its oligarch-sponsored extremism and disinformation, is neither a friend nor an ally”.
“North Korean and Iranian military support for Russia against Ukraine, which renounced nuclear weapons for peace, underscores Russia's pro-autocracy stance and rejection of a rules-based international order,” they said.
Pretoria News