Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset will participate in the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (URC2025) co-hosted by Italy and Ukraine. Following the previous meetings in Lugano, London and Berlin, the conference will gather global political leaders, representatives of international organisations and financial institutions, private sector actors, local and regional authorities, civil society and the Ukrainian diaspora.
The URC2025 is dedicated to the recovery, rebuilding, reform, modernisation and long-term reconstruction of the country since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. The high-level event will focus on four key themes: mobilising the private sector for reconstruction and economic growth; human dimension: social recovery and human capital for the future of Ukraine; recovery of municipalities and regions, and European Union (EU) accession and related reforms.
Secretary General Alain Berset will speak in the Panel dedicated to Strengthening Rule of Law Through Integrity and Enforcement Efforts. The delegation also includes the Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty, members of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, led by President Marc Cools, and the Special Envoy of Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir. The Council of Europe Development Bank, represented by Governor Carlo Monticelli, will also take part in the URC2025. The Ukraine Recovery Conference will be held at the Rome Convention Center « La Nuvola » and is open to accredited journalists.
The Council of Europe and Ukraine since Russia’s military aggression
Since the very start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Council of Europe has been mobilising all instruments available to ensure the Russian Federation’s full accountability for violations of human rights and for serious violations of international law, as well as for providing compensation to the victims of Russia’s aggression.
On 25 June 2025, Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed a bilateral agreement on establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, marking a major step toward prosecuting senior Russian officials for launching the war. This legal mechanism aims to reinforce accountability where existing international courts currently lack jurisdiction over this crime.
The European Court of Human Rights is the only international court adjudicating human rights violations stemming from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The Court has processed several inter-State cases concerning the Russian war on Ukraine and also many individual cases of human rights violations in this context. Thousands of such cases are still pending before the Court. As the legal arm of the Council of Europe, it has guided European states through threats to judicial independence, political turmoil, and war—bringing the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights to life for 75 years. In a world facing unprecedented impunity, the Court remains a cornerstone of accountability and a reminder that the rule of law applies even in times of war.
Another key initiative is the Register of Damage for Ukraine, a mechanism established by the Council of Europe to document and process claims related to losses resulting from the invasion. As of June 2025, over 40,000 claims have been officially recorded, ranging from death to missing immediate family members, sexual violence, and destruction of property. The Register is a first step toward a future international compensation mechanism, with the establishment of a Claims Commission.
The Council of Europe also prioritises the protection of Ukrainian children, in Ukraine and across Council of Europe member states. Secretary General Alain Berset has appointed his Special Envoy on the Situation of Children of Ukraine, Ms Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, who has stressed that rebuilding Ukraine is meaningless without accountability for crimes committed against its children. In addition, under its 2023–2026 Action Plan on “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction”, the Council of Europe is scaling up activities in 2025–2026 to support democratic reforms, judicial independence, and media freedom in Ukraine.
Today the Court delivered a historic judgment Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia marking another important step towards Russia’s accountability for its war of aggression on Ukraine, starting with the conflict in eastern Ukraine involving pro-Russian separatists in 2014 and escalated after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022. The Court unanimously found Russia accountable for a series of widespread and flagrant abuses of human rights. The violations committed by Russia, including in relation to the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, were committed in flagrant disregard for the foundations of the international legal order established after the Second World War, on which the Council of Europe is based.
The Council of Europe and Ukraine
Memorandum for peace in Ukraine by Commissioner of Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty
Council of Europe Congress united with cities and regions for Ukraine’s recovery
