CoE summit creates damage register for Ukraine
The US, Japan, Canada and nearly all European countries in the Council of Europe signed a register of damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, paving the way for claims for reparations and prosecutions against Moscow, the Council of Europe, meeting at heads of state level in Iceland, announced, according to AFP and Agerpres.
Announced on Tuesday at the pan-European organisation's fourth summit in Reykjavik, the register is intended as a first step towards seeking reparations from Moscow for the thousands of victims and billions of euros worth of damage.
As of Wednesday morning, "we have about 40 member states that have signed and all G7 countries on three continents," said Council of Europe secretary-general Marija Pejcinovic Buric on the second day of the summit.
"We want victim-centred justice," said the head of the body, best known for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), welcoming a "necessary and urgent first step".
The initiative, promoted by the organisation's Icelandic presidency, aims to show that the "justice for Ukraine" dossier is moving forward, while the prospect of a possible special tribunal for war crimes committed during the invasion remains distant.
The European Union has also signed the register, in addition to most of its members, including Romania. One EU member country, Bulgaria, as well as Switzerland and Andorra, are in the process of finalising their internal procedures to sign the document as well, according to the Council of Europe.
"There will be no reliable peace without justice," Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski said Tuesday evening by video conference at the opening of the summit.
Ukraine is part of the Council of Europe, which excluded Russia from its membership in March 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion.
Kiev has welcomed the creation of the register, which will be based in The Hague, like the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The latter, initially set up for three years, is to receive victims' complaints and gather evidence of human and material damage.
"The register paves the way for a comprehensive international compensation mechanism for victims of Russian aggression," the Council of Europe said in a statement.
