“Be assured that the Council of Europe will provide all possible assistance to facilitate the investigation into these war crimes, and to ensure that those responsible for them are brought to justice, including through concrete support to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine”, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Tiny Kox, announced to the President of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, during the Council of Europe’s first official visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The visit ended yesterday, a few days after the discovery of the Bucha massacre on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Accompanied by members of the Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Kox also stressed the importance of further consolidating democracy and the Rule of law in Ukraine as part of a comprehensive post-war reconstruction plan. He gave assurance to Mr Stefanchuk that this would be a priority for the Assembly.
During the visit, the Council of Europe delegation met with members of the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly, as well as with the Mayor of Lviv and the Head of the Regional Civil-Military Administration. It also visited the local humanitarian aid coordination centre.
Also yesterday, Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement denouncing “the terrible acts committed against the civilian populations of Bucha, Borodianka, Trostianets and many other Ukrainian towns”, while confirming her commitment to assist in the coordinated documentation of these war crimes in order to identify those responsible. This would include having “regular contact with Ukrainian human rights defenders and international counterparts” within the framework of the Council of Europe mission.
The issue of Council of Europe support for Ukraine will also be discussed at the Parliamentary Assembly’s plenary session, which is to be held from 25 to 28 April.
Two reports that were already adopted in committee will be debated and put to the vote.
One report (which was adopted unanimously by the Political Affairs Committee) calls for the strengthening of the strategic partnership between the Council of Europe and the EU, something that has become essential due to the war in Ukraine. This could be achieved by holding a Council of Europe Summit with the participation of EU representatives.
The other report (adopted unanimously by the Legal Affairs Committee) is devoted to dealing with assets and property that has been confiscated from Russian oligarchs; it proposes in particular that they be allocated to Ukraine as part of the compensation to be paid by Russia after the war. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)