Ukraine “must have a seat at the table” for peace negotiations and “Europe’s voice must be heard” in discussions regarding Ukraine’s future, the deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe has said.
The impunity of some governments who continue to “trample on international law” is “politically indefensible and morally intolerable”, Bjorn Berge told a conference in DCU on Thursday that marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Each day, Russia’s war against Ukraine “takes more lives, spreads more destruction and further undermines the very foundations of international law,” the secretary general told attendees at the Council of Europe conference, which focused on securing peace, justice and accountability in Ukraine.
Compensation and reparations for Ukrainian victims of the war is a key element of holding Russia accountable for its actions, said Mr Berge, adding that the Council of Europe had already received 13,000 claims for damage or destruction of housing through its recently launched register of damage. A new claims category for the death of immediate family members was recently introduced, with several other categories to be included, he said.
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Mr Berge called on European governments to show the necessary “political will” to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The European Court of Human Rights also plays an invaluable role in ensuring justice, he said, noting the 4,500 individual war-related applications that are pending before the court, including cases related to the conflict in Crimea and eastern Europe dating back to 2014.
Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said the war in Ukraine had become “an existential issue, not just for Ukraine, but for the security of Europe”.
Ireland must demonstrate it understands the security and defence needs of its fellow member states, “without undermining our own traditions”, Mr Byrne told Thursday’s conference. “That includes enhancing our own security and defence.”
Ireland is militarily neutral by tradition but has never been “politically or morally neutral in the face of violating international law and committing international crimes”, he said. Ireland had committed more than €380 million in political, humanitarian and “non-lethal military support” since February 2022, he added.
“We recognise that as Ukrainians defend their nation, they are defending our fundamental European and universal freedoms – the rights of all people to live peacefully within their own borders, without fear of being attacked.”
Agreeing with Mr Berge, he said no peace agreement could be made “about Ukraine, without Ukraine”.
Mr Byrne continued: “Equally, there should be nothing about Europe without Europe. How we bring peace matters.”
Ireland will “continue to stand with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes” in their pursuit of “peace, territorial integrity and a prosperous future within the European Union”, he said.
Deputy ambassador at the embassy of Ukraine Dmytro Shchedrin echoed assertions that Russia’s war on Ukraine was “a brutal assault on the fundamental principles that define our common humanity, democracy, sovereignty and human rights”.
“Russia seeks to play replace a world governed by international law with the world ruled by only force,” said Mr Shchedrin, standing in for Ukrainian ambassador Larysa Gerasko, who was at to Shannon Airport to meet president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during his layover en route to the United States.
“This war is not just about Ukraine. It is a calculated effort to destabilise democratic nations, spread autocracy and undermine the values that unite us all.”
The Council of Europe’s establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression is “the matter of highest priority” in ensuring a “comprehensive and lasting peace,” said Mr Shchedrin. “There can be no immunity for those who have at led the most aggressive war in Europe since the second World War.”
