THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — More than 100 Ukrainians whose property has been damaged during the Russian invasion applied for compensation on Tuesday from a newly created organization backed by more than 40 countries.
Last May, the Council of Europe, a post-World War II human rights body, announced the creation of the Register of Damages where victims of war can log the destruction they have experienced in the hope they may get eventually see some financial reimbursement.
"The Ukrainian people, they want justice. The crimes of Russia cannot go unpunished," Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot told reporters as she entered the conference center. The register is headquartered in The Hague.
Claims are limited to damage to physical property that occurred since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. At a later date, the organization will accept claims for injuries, death and psychological damage.
Forty-three countries and the EU have backed the register, including the United States, France and Japan.
The register formally opened during a conference on justice for Ukraine hosted by the Netherlands, Ukraine and the European Union. Dutch King Willem-Alexander addressed the conference in a pre-recorded video.
“Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who have been withstanding Russian aggression for so long,” he said.
How soon victims might see compensation, however, is unclear. “The timeline depends on the capacity to pump up the mechanism with money,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, told reporters during a press conference following the conference.
The register itself is funded by the countries that have backed its establishment — but the money is dedicated to running the organization, not paying claims. The organizing parties want Russia to fund the compensation claims but it’s unclear how to make Moscow pay up.
While some $280 billion in Russian assets have been frozen around the globe, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, obtaining those funds is challenging because they are held in multiple jurisdictions and the seizures are often subject to legal challenges.
Ukrainians who have had property damaged or destroyed during the war can file their claims via Diia, a government app and e-portal that allows citizens to access various government services.
Kyiv has pursued multiple avenues for justice for Russian hostilities. The country has brought a case against Russia at the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention — which the UN’s top court partially advanced earlier this year — and also has several ongoing complaints against Russia at the Strasbourg-based court European Court of Human Rights.
Attempts to create a special tribunal for the war have been mired in political and legal challenges. The Russian Federation isn’t a party to the Rome Statute, so no act of military aggression it perpetuates could be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other top Russian officials for war crimes. The court first opened an investigation in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the war on Donbas.
Ukraine has already convicted 104 people of war crimes in its national courts and has identified another 521 suspects.
Follow @mollyquell
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Southern California bird smuggler sentenced to time served April 12, 2024 -
