Service Above Self: Let your voice be heard

By Kitt Brand on January 3, 2026.

Canadians are often mocked for being quiet and polite. It is time to be vocal and loud – still polite, but firm.

A groundswell is building to get the children stolen from Ukraine back home. Independent monitoring agencies estimate that 20,000 children have been taken since the Russian invasion in 2014. When the war intensified in 2022, the problem became even more frightening, with estimates as high as 40,000 children taken.

Since the annexation of parts of Ukraine and the almost relentless attacks on the population, more than 1.6 million children have been affected by, displaced by, orphaned by, or kidnapped by Russians.

There is a solid basis for action. In 1959, all 78 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child to education, good nutrition, health care, protection, and shelter.

The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child resulted in an international human rights treaty which sets out civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of children. It became effective September 2, 1990, named 196 Parties, 140 Signatories, and 20 Ratifications including Canada.

Of interest may be the fact that, although the U.S. helped draft the Convention, it was the only one of all eligible states not to become a Party or to ever ratify it. Nations that have ratified it or acceded to it are bound by international law.

Now to related current and local developments: A member of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat was asked to be one of the five original Signatories in Canada to bring a petition before the House of Commons to put pressure on Russia to return the more than 20,000 children stolen from Ukraine.

Sponsored by our own MP Glen Motz, it has been approved by the Clerk of Petitions for publication. Petition e-6958, initiated by Peter Chabursky, is now available for electronic signing by any Canadian citizen or resident by contacting the Clerk of Petitions at PMB-AED@parl.gc.ca.

Internationally, 40 other countries are also urging such action. If you haven’t seen the film “Ukraine’s Stolen Children,” find it on a streaming service and watch it with your family. This 2023 documentary gives a glimpse at what stolen young Ukrainians are experiencing and what their families are enduring.

If the idea of brainwashing a child makes you sick, then make a note to yourself to go online, sign the petition and broadcast its availability.

This is one impactful way the will of the people can be made known that Canadians want all pressures possible brought to bear on Russia to return the stolen children of Ukraine and to uphold the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Sign up, speak out, share this urgent petition. Be part of the international groundswell of support for Ukrainian children.

Internationally, December 4, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Return of Ukrainian Children” supported by 91 countries.

The resolution aims to protect the rights of Ukrainian children who were unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It calls on Russia to ensure the immediate and unconditional return of all illegally deported Ukrainian children. The resolution condemns the forced deportation of children, changes to their citizenship and legal status, attempts to place them in Russian families, and other actions aimed at erasing their identity or family ties.

It emphasizes that such practices violate international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the forcible transfer of children from occupied territories.” Canada played a key part in pursuing this resolution having experienced the cultural devastation of such actions.

As we cap off our own Holiday Season, it seems particularly apt and appropriate that efforts be made to save the Ukrainian children.

In addition, know that Rotary clubs around the world are working to help youngsters there affected by the war. If these efforts are something that speak to your heart, feel free to contact me to see how you might help.

Kitt Brand is a member of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat and Rotary E-Club of Canada One. Contact: kittbrand@gmail.com