Ukraine Working To Create International Coalition To Secure Return Of Civilian Detainees Mezentseva

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Maria Mezentseva, head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and vice president of the Assembly, said this in an interview with an Ukrinform correspondent.

According to her, during the autumn session of PACE, representatives of Ukraine and organizations working on behalf of detainees met with PACE President Petra Bayr and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset.

"The Secretary General has received families on several occasions and recognized some of the wives of civilians who are being held in captivity. We were also joined by a marine, Ivan, who had tuberculosis and is now fighting for his fellow service members," Mezentseva said.

The Ukrainian delegation is coordinating this work with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. One of the next steps is to be a separate international event in France.

"A summit on civilian detainees is being planned for December 2 in Paris. We are also working with the Center for Civil Liberties, which received the Nobel Peace Prize, to launch joint medical commissions," Mezentseva said.

According to her, establishing such commissions is currently a top priority. They should include representatives of Ukraine and Russia, as well as independent doctors from other countries who would be able to gain access to seriously ill and severely wounded people held in Russian captivity.

"Russia agreed to such commissions, but after the decision went through the Russian ministries, the mechanism was never put into operation. For us, launching this mechanism would be a major step forward globally," Mezentseva said.

According to her, Ukraine also seeks to build a broad international coalition on detainees modeled on the cooperation currently being developed in support of veterans.

Read also: Russian forces hold about 2,000 people in Oleshky without food or water, nearly 50 of them children

"We want to create the same kind of international coalition on detainees as the one we are creating for veterans. The return of all our people – adults and children – is the fourth point of the peace plan supported by the Assembly and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe," she said.

As reported, Ukrainian human rights defenders, former civilian detainees released from Russian captivity, and relatives of people held by Russia called on European politicians to raise the issue of the release of civilian detainees during every negotiation process and coordinate the work of existing international mechanisms.

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