Titus Corlăţean (Romania, SOC), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's rapporteur on accountability for Russia's aggression against Ukraine, has warmly welcomed yesterday’s major step towards an International Claims Commission for Ukraine under the aegis of the Council of Europe, and pledged that the Parliamentary Assembly will do “everything in its power” to support it as well as the establishment of a future compensation fund.
Representing the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Corlăţean was addressing a diplomatic conference in The Hague for the adoption and opening for signature of a convention establishing the commission, attended by the Ukrainian and Moldovan Presidents among others.
“The Claims Commission will ensure accountability and redress for Ukraine, upholding the principles of state responsibility and the international legal order,” he told the diplomats. “Any future peace settlement must include reparations for the victims of the aggression.”
He reiterated that the Assembly had played a key role in the organisation’s legal and political response to Russia’s aggression, recommending Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe, and being among the first to call for an international compensation mechanism made up of three stages: a register of damage, a claims commission and a compensation fund. “The second of these steps is now becoming a reality,” the Rapporteur underlined.
The International Claims Commission will review, assess and decide upon claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine and determine the amount of compensation, if any, which is due in each case.
The convention establishing the commission will enter into force after it has been ratified by 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funds have been secured to support the commission’s initial work. 34 member states and the European Union signed the convention at yesterday's diplomatic conference.
