EU leaders launch compensation commission for Ukraine war victims News
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EU leaders launch compensation commission for Ukraine war victims

The European Union (EU) and 34 European leaders on Tuesday signed a new convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine in a move to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its aggression against Ukraine since February 24, 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also signed the convention, said:

We expect that every mechanism for compensation from the Register of Damage and Claims Commission to the actual payments–will start working and receive strong and sufficient international support, so that people can truly feel that any kind of damage caused by the war can be compensated. This war, and Russia’s responsibility for it, MUST become a clear example–so that others learn not to choose aggression.

The commission forms the second part of a comprehensive compensation mechanism built on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine, which was created in 2023 for the purpose of collecting and recording compensation claims submitted by individuals, organizations, and public bodies in Ukraine. The EU and 44 states have joined the register so far, with 86,000 claims recorded.

According to the convention, the commission will operate within the framework of the Council of Europe, with an administrative role of reviewing, assessing, and deciding upon claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine. The compensation will cover any damage or loss caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in violation of the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law. This aligns with the general principle in international law that requires the author of a wrongful act to make reparations for the consequences of their acts.

The signature took place at a diplomatic conference in the Hague, co-hosted by the Council of Europe and the Netherlands. The convention remains open for signature by other countries and will enter into force once 25 signatories have ratified it and sufficient funds have been secured to support its initial work.

The compensation mechanism adds to existing international efforts to hold Russian leaders accountable for their alleged wrongful acts in Ukraine. Earlier in June, Ukraine and the Council of Europe also signed an agreement aimed at establishing a Special Tribunal to hold Russian political and military leaders accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. In October, the EU imposed its 19th package of sanctions on the Russian economic sectors to hinder Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

While world leaders, including Estonia and Finland, hail the mechanism, Ukrainian rights groups have criticized the current framework for arbitrarily excluding many victims of grave international crimes committed in the eastern parts of Ukraine in February 2014.

Illia Chernohorenko from Opinio Juris also highlighted gaps in the framework, such as the uncertainty surrounding the enforcement of the convention and the compensation fund. In particular, he argued that “Article 21 ‘expects‘ the Russian Federation to fund compensation and relieves other Members from any duty to pay awards.”

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