The 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe took place in Reykjavík, on 16 and 17 May 2023. The leaders decided to establish a Register of damage caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. They agreed to strengthen the Council of Europe and its work in the field of human rights, democracy and the rule of law by adopting a declaration on democracy principles, recommitting to the European Convention on Human Rights and developing tools to tackle emerging challenges in the area of technology and the environment.

In its declaration - United around our values - the Summit recalls "the increasing challenges of migration and the necessity to fight against trafficking and smuggling of migrants."

“We commit to intensifying efforts to foster and improve international co-operation in this regard, while continuing to protect the victims and respect the human rights of migrants and refugees, as well as supporting frontline States, within the existing Council of Europe frameworks,” reads the document.

Appendix II of the declaration focuses on the situation of the children of Ukraine, including those unlawfully transferred and deported by the Russian forces.  It calls for intensifying efforts, at all levels of governance, to guarantee the effective protection of the rights of the children of Ukraine in full compliance with the applicable Council of Europe standards. The declaration stresses the importance of the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Europe monitoring and other bodies that concern the situation of children of Ukraine.

It also calls for the implementation of specific measures that target the protection and well-being of the children of Ukraine, including those in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction (2023- 2026) and the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum (2021-2025).