Press Release – “Ukrainian children stolen by Russia must be returned”
Emile Foundation condemns the reported Ukraine peace plan for weak child-return provisions, blanket war-crimes amnesty
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28 November 2025
The Hague – The Emile Foundation today condemned the lack of focus by peace negotiators concerning Ukrainian children held captive by Russia.
“Ukrainian children stolen by Russia must be returned,” said Mariam Lambert, Co-Founder of the Emile Foundation. “The return of these innocent children is a matter of moral urgency and legal justification.”
The Foundation does acknowledge that certain reported elements under consideration refer to the return of all abducted Ukrainian children and civilian detainees. However, without enforceable mechanisms, including an independent international monitoring body, real-time family-tracing protocols, and mandatory trauma-informed reintegration compliant with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this provision remains ineffective and risks becoming another unfulfilled promise.
Point 26, which reportedly grants blanket amnesty for all war crimes and bars future legal claims, is categorically unacceptable. Offering impunity to those responsible for the systematic abduction and unlawful transfer of children and other grave violations would undermine international law and encourage further aggression.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Emile Foundation Goodwill Ambassador and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, stated on 23 November 2025:
“There is not a word about the fate of people under occupation in this plan. The paragraph on the humanitarian committee contains a mention of […] the return of civilian hostages, including children, which is not formulated as an imperative requirement… The plan does not provide for any negative consequences for aggression, but instead provides amnesty for war crimes committed by Russia.”
Hanna Zamyshliaieva, mother of a child kidnapped by Russia and Emile Foundation Goodwill Ambassador, stated:
“Offering amnesty to those who abducted our children is moral bankruptcy. Justice cannot be a compromise. Any promise of return is an empty statement without mandatory, independent international oversight that guarantees no child is ever used as a tool of manipulation again.”
Lisa Kristine, recipient of the Lucie Humanitarian Award and Emile Foundation Goodwill Ambassador, stated:
“As someone who has witnessed the lifelong scars that exploitation leaves on children and families, I know that words on a page mean nothing without real oversight and trauma-informed care. Any peace plan must place abducted children at the very center, with global accountability built into every step of their return. Anything less risks repeating the failures.”
Since 2022 the Emile Foundation has directly supported the documentation and return of abducted Ukrainian children. Our experience demonstrates that Russia consistently exploits ambiguities and the absence of independent oversight to obstruct repatriation.
The Emile Foundation urges all parties to immediately revise the plan to establish binding, verifiable mechanisms for the full return of every abducted child and civilian and to remove all provisions granting amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
Mariam Lambert, Co-founder
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Goodwill Ambassador & 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Hanna Zamyshliaieva, Goodwill Ambassador & mother of an abducted child
Lisa Kristine, Goodwill Ambassador & recipient of the Lucy Humanitarian Award
About the Emile Foundation
The Emile Foundation is an independent The Hague-based non-governmental organisation dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and reunification of Ukrainian children stolen by Russia.
Media Contact
press@emile.foundation
+31 6 43 06 07 02 (The Netherlands)
www.emilefoundation.org