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‘People First!’ Campaign Calls for Release of Captives from Russia’s Invasion 

2025 is likely to see some form of negotiation between Russia, Ukraine and the wider international community. We at PAX, alongside a coalition of human rights organizations led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Centre for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) and Memorial (Russia), launch the ‘People First!’ campaign. A key priority of any negotiated agreement must be the release of all captives and illegally deported children of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Image: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA/ANP

Our message is clear: put people first. The primary focus of any negotiated agreement must be the release of thousands of Ukrainian civilians held by the Russian state, 20,000 children forcibly transferred or deported to Russia, 8,000 Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war held by both sides, and hundreds of Russian political prisoners detained for protesting the war. 

Our demands 

  • In accordance with international law, all Ukrainian civilians captured and illegally detained by Russian forces, including those sentenced by Russian courts, be released and allowed to return home immediately and unconditionally. Those whose homes are in Russian-controlled areas, should be given the opportunity to leave for Ukrainian government-controlled areas of the country should they wish to do so. 
  • All illegally transferred or deported children be returned. 
  • It is also essential to ensure timely repatriation of deported Ukrainian convicts and patients of closed medical institutions, such as nursing homes and psychiatric facilities. 
  • All efforts are made to repatriate prisoners of war, through exchanges or otherwise, as soon as possible, and no later than at the end of active hostilities as required by the Geneva Conventions.
  • Russian political prisoners already sentenced to prison terms or awaiting sentences in connection to their antiwar statements and actions be released and should face no limits on their freedom of movement, including to travel abroad if they wish to do so. 
  • A special independent international mechanism is established to facilitate these processes, monitor their compliance with international humanitarian law, and ensure regular, transparent reporting on progress, including updates on the release of prisoners and adherence to humanitarian standards. 
  • Russia must provide immediate full access to all the captives and all illegally transferred or deported children for the UN agencies and ICRC. 

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and leader of the Center for Civil Liberties, emphasized the urgency of freeing all unlawfully detained individuals and exchanging prisoners of war. “In the years of the armed conflict, I have spoken to many survivors of Russian captivity who described horrific experiences of torture, deprivation, and lack of medical assistance. Freeing all the unlawfully detained and exchanging all the prisoners of war should be an absolute priority. The captives may not last long enough to see the end of the war,” she said. 

Oleg Orlov, Co-Chair of the Memorial Centre for Human Rights Protection and former political prisoner, highlighted the importance of prioritizing people’s freedom in any negotiations. “The terrible scourge of war has already affected tens of millions of people. Lives taken by war cannot be recovered. It is all the more important to rectify what can be rectified. First and foremost, this means returning freedom to those who are in captivity because of the war. People, their freedom should be the priority of any negotiations,” he stated. 

For more information read the full statement on the website of the initiative.  

The coalition members

Center for Civil Liberties, International Memorial Association, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, Memorial Human Rights Defense Center, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Moscow Helsinki group, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, PAX, Stichting Justice Initiative, European Prison Litigation Network, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Another Europe Is Possible, OVD-Info, Platform of Civic, Anti-War and Humanitarian Initiatives, Truth Hounds Ukraine, Voices of Children Charitable Foundation Ukraine, Protection For Prisoners of Ukraine, Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin, Assemblée Européenne des Citoyens, France, Ukraine Comb’art, European network of solidarity with Ukraine, Syrian British Consortium 

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