On 22 December 2022, the Council of Europe (CoE) handed over office IT equipment to the War Crimes Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (OPG). The equipment was procured within the framework of the CoE project on “Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in Ukraine”. In total, 79 laptops, 79 multifunctional devices/printers and 16 video cameras have been delivered. Additional equipment, namely memory cards and external hard drives, will be delivered by the end of the year.

At a formal handover ceremony, Mr Christos Giakoumopoulos, the Council of Europe Director General Human Rights and Rule of Law noted that the Council of Europe provides “expertise on the implementation of the standards to which all member States have committed. But we also recognize the concrete implementation of standards requires practical tools, especially in the current extreme conditions, and in extreme circumstances, we do everything possible to also provide some of the very practical tools needed for your work.”

Mr Giakoumopoulos reiterated that the Council of Europe will continue supporting the proper investigation and prosecution of war-related human rights violations within the new Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine, entitled “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026). Under the new Action Plan, co-operation projects to support Ukraine will be launched as of 1 January 2023, including in the criminal justice field, to ensure the continuation of active cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Mr Andriy Kostin, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, acknowledged the assistance provided by the CoE, which also includes strategic advice and training to prosecutors on issues pertinent to the investigation of allegations of gross human rights violations, in the context of the ongoing military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. He further noted that his Office remains committed to its partnership with the Council of Europe and to the reforms aimed at further strengthening the capacity, independence and professionalism of the prosecution service, along with the effective investigation and prosecution of the international crimes committed in the course of the ongoing war.

The procurement and delivery of the equipment was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in Ukraine”, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.