The Council of Europe (CoE), which oversees human rights in continental Europe, agreed on the 17th (local time) to set up a ‘register of damage’ to list the damages of war victims in Ukraine so that Russia can be held accountable for reparations. did. Six countries did not participate.
The Council of Europe said at a two-day summit held in Reykjavík, the Icelandic capital, that it had agreed to set up a “damage register”.
The ‘Damage Record’ is an organization dedicated to receiving, processing, and recording the damage and evidence of Ukraine’s invasion of Russia. It is to hold Russia liable for reparations.
Headquarters will be located in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ‘legal capital’ of the world.
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe evaluated it as a “historic decision”, saying it was “a measure to establish victim-centered justice”. “It will help document the damage suffered by the victims and ensure that they receive reparations,” he said. “It is one of the first legally binding decisions to hold Russia accountable.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Having a damage record is very important judicially in order to provide justice to victims in terms of reconstruction.”
The declaration was signed by 40 member states of the Council of Europe and the EU. Three countries, Andorra, Bulgaria and Switzerland, are taking internal procedures to participate. Three observer countries, the United States, Canada, and Japan, also supported the declaration.
On the other hand, six member states, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia and Turkiye, did not sign it.
In a statement released after the summit, Britain and the Netherlands also said they had decided to create a “United Nations” to support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets and help with training.
However, in order to deliver the F-16, US approval is required, but the US is still lukewarm.
In this regard, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out the possibility of direct supply at a press conference after the meeting in Berlin, Germany, saying, “It depends on the United States whether they can deliver the F-16 fighter jets.”
The Council of Europe is an organization established in 1949, after World War II, to advocate for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in continental Europe. It has the European Court of Human Rights under its umbrella. It has 46 member states, and the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the Holy See of Israel are observer countries. Russia was effectively out of the country after it invaded Ukraine last year.
This summit was the fourth meeting since its establishment. Previous meetings were held in 1993, 1997 and 2005.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.