On 5 September, an informal conference of Council of Europe Ministers of Justice ‘Towards Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine’ was held in Vilnius, organized under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The conference brought together about 200 participants, including Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe member states, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, representatives of the European Commission, Ambassadors and diplomatic corps accredited in Lithuania. Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta also took part in the conference.
The main purpose of the event is to discuss further steps towards the establishment of a Special Tribunal to ensure criminal accountability of the Russian Federation for unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine. This topic is an integral element of the seventh point of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, ‘Restoring Justice’. The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law was also opened for signature during the event.
According to the Minister of Justice of Lithuania, Ewelina Dobrowolska, Lithuania's unwavering priority is to support Ukraine on its path to victory, and that is why this international conference is focused on discussing the next steps to establish a Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The conference is expected to provide a platform for discussing challenges and possible solutions to a common standard of national investigations, unified assessment of evidence and the possibility of conducting trials in absentia.
At the opening of the informal conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe, the Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine for European Integration Liudmyla Suhak delivered an online opening speech. In her opening remarks, Ms Sugak reminded that Ukraine has been a victim of Russia's full-scale invasion for almost three years now, and stressed that every day Russia commits the most heinous international crimes. She noted that Russia's war against Ukraine is the largest and most brutal war in Europe since the Second World War, which only underscores the importance of preventing impunity for such actions and the need to bring to justice every representative of the aggressor state, both military and high-ranking officials, along with representatives of the civilian occupation administration, for international crimes. The Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine drew special attention to the fact that Ukraine has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to strengthening international justice by ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. She also highlighted other important steps taken by Ukraine on its way to membership in the European Union aimed at bringing perpetrators of international crimes to justice.
The event also featured a press conference with the participation of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinovič Burič, the Minister of Justice of Lithuania Ewelina Dobrowolska and the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania Petro Beshta.
Speaking at the press conference, Petro Beshta emphasized, among other things, the lack of responsibility of the aggressor state for its previous crimes, which is why it ‘behaves so cruelly and barbarically, as it is confident that it will avoid punishment for its genocidal aggression against Ukraine, as it did before’. In his address to the Lithuanian and international media, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania recalled the systematic shelling of Ukrainian cities, which leads to civilian casualties in violation of international law, including that ‘only the day before yesterday in Poltava more than 50 people were killed and about 300 were injured; yesterday, in the centre of Lviv, 7 people were killed and 53 were injured as a result of the Russian attack’. He concluded that the responsibility of the aggressor state, as well as reparations and compensation for the damage and losses caused by its actions, is our final and inevitable result. Ambassador Petro Beshta also stressed that Ukraine highly appreciates the Council of Europe's leadership in the practical implementation of accountability mechanisms and principled position on key issues, and expressed gratitude to the Lithuanian partners for their continued support and assistance.
The representatives of the member and observer states of the Council of Europe present at the meeting in Vilnius approved the Declaration of the Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe ‘Towards accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine’, in which they reaffirmed their strong commitment to support Ukraine, to ensure justice and international law. The Declaration strongly supports the establishment of international justice mechanisms to investigate the crimes of the aggressor state, including the prosecution of those who committed such crimes. Particular attention was paid to the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, including to ensure criminal accountability of the Russian Federation and its officials for unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine. The 45 representatives of the Council of Europe member and observer states that joined the declaration also stressed Russia's obligation to bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts in or against Ukraine, including reparations.
We are grateful to Lithuania for its unwavering support of Ukraine on its path to restoring justice, bringing the aggressor to responsibility and ensuring justice for all victims in order to prevent further atrocities!
Watch the conference broadcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph5-YtaIdbg