2023-05-17 19:27:00
The Council of Europe creates a “damage record” for Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, center, speaks to the media at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Photo: AP Photo/Alastair Grant )
The Council of Europe (COE) has announced the creation of a “damage registry” to help hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine, the organization announced Wednesday at the end of a two-day summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. .
The register — officially the “Register of Damage Caused by the Russian Federation’s Aggression Against Ukraine” — will document “damage, loss or injury caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the COE said, in an initiative that will last for an initial period of three years.
The system is “vital” if Moscow is to be held accountable for reparations to war victims, said Marija Pejčinović Burić, the COE’s general secretary.
“It is one of the first legally binding decisions to hold Russia accountable for its actions,” he added.
The COE has 46 member states. The Reykjavik meeting is only the fourth summit since the council’s creation in 1949. The summit’s “highest priority” was support for Ukraine in the Russian war, according to the COE website.
“The registration is an important step towards accountability for the crimes committed in Russia’s brutal war and a strong message of support for Ukraine,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the registration is “an important milestone on the path to justice and reparation for Ukraine and Ukrainians who have suffered so much from this war.”
“We invite other states, from all corners of the world, to join the Damage Register in a show of support for the important issue of Russia’s accountability for its war against Ukraine,” he added.
Forty nations — including some that, like the United States, had observer status at the summit — have joined the registry, and three others have expressed their intention to do so.
Nine countries that are members or observer states of the Council have not yet joined the agreement: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, the Holy See, Israel and Mexico.
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