Participation of the Honourable Raymonde Gagné, Speaker of the Senate, to the Second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform, Prague, Czech Republic

On October 23 and 24, the Honourable Raymonde Gagné, Speaker of the Senate, participated in the Second Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform, in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Summit was attended by representatives of national parliaments and parliamentary assemblies of international organizations from 51 countries at the invitation of Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

In a Joint Declaration, participants unequivocally condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and agreed on the need to restore its territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders, including the Crimean Peninsula. They also unequivocally condemned the negative impact of the illegal Russian occupation of Crimea and other parts of Ukraine on global energy and food security, and on the human rights of the inhabitants of the occupied regions. They also paid special attention to the issue of displaced Ukrainian children taken to Russia, Belarus, or Russian-occupied territories.

During the conference, the Speaker also conducted bilateral meetings with counterparts.