Ukraine: European countries sign up to special tribunal plan

"Most of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, a France-based body focused on safeguarding human rights and democracy with a larger membership than the EU that's not to be confused with the European Council, approved a resolution laying the groundwork for the future tribunal, the Council said in a statement. Ukraine is a member state."

""The time for Russia to be held to account for its aggression is fast approaching," the organization's secretary general Alain Berset said. "The special tribunal represents justice and hope. Action now needs to be taken to follow up on this political commitment by securing the tribunal's functioning and funding." "Today, we are taking responsibility to ensure that aggression does not go unanswered," Berset said, inviting other countries to join the initiative."

""Just like the Nuremberg tribunal 80 years ago, this Special Tribunal in the Hague will restore justice from the ruins of war," Sybiha said, referencing the trials of some surviving senior Nazis after World War II. "We are creating an infrastructure of accountability with three pillars: the Special Tribunal, the Register of Damages and the Claims Commission. Let me also emphasize that accountability will never be up for compromise.""

Thirty-four European countries, Australia, Costa Rica, and the European Union entity signed up to a future special tribunal aimed at prosecuting Russia for crimes committed during its invasion of Ukraine. The plan began soon after the full-scale invasion in 2022, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an agreement with the Council of Europe last year to implement it. Most Council of Europe member states approved a resolution laying groundwork for the tribunal. The Council of Europe said Ukraine is a member state. The Council’s secretary general called for securing the tribunal’s functioning and funding. Ukraine’s foreign minister described the tribunal as a historic step and linked it to accountability infrastructure including a register of damages and a claims commission.

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