The Council of Europe held an Extended Steering Committee Meeting under the scope of four cooperation projects implemented as part of the Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery, and Reconstruction” (2023–2026).
The meeting focused on reviewing the 2-year achievements in key Council of Europe cooperation areas in Ukraine, such as criminal justice, judiciary, law enforcement, and remedies for the war-affected population, as well as the prospects for continued cooperation. The event brought together a wide range of national stakeholders, including the Government, Parliament, Judiciary, Prosecution, Law Enforcement Agencies, Lawyers, Training Institutions, and International Donors.
In the opening remarks Mr Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, referred to the main objective of the current Action Plan, which is to “contribute to Ukraine’s stability, security and prosperity through addressing immediate and medium-term needs in times of war and further during the post-war period, in the areas where the Council of Europe has expertise and added value. In addition, the Action Plan also supports Ukraine’s European perspective reform agenda, following the decision by the European Council to grant the country EU candidate status”.
Discussions during the event were organised into three thematic sessions, emphasising:
- The outcomes of joint initiatives by national authorities and the Council of Europe,
- Needs and prospects for justice, accountability, prosecution, and investigation, and
- Effective remedies and solutions for the war-affected population.
Participants underscored the importance of addressing the critical issues discussed to support Ukraine’s resilience and recovery efforts. While referring to the Council of Europe’s added value, the Ukrainian authorities outlined their needs to furthering the cooperation.
“Council of Europe support has always been of crucial importance to Ukraine. Throughout the years of tight cooperation, we nurtured common standards and worldview, and not a single problematic aspect was left unaddressed by our joint work” – underlined Mr. Stanislav Kravchenko, Head of the Supreme Court.
“The Council of Europe's expert support is particularly important and valuable for us, as the Council of Europe experts' analysis serves both as a basis for EU institutions' decision-making and implementation of relevant recommendations, and, on the other hand, it is important for ensuring justice for war crimes” – Ms. Viktoriia Litvinova, Deputy Prosecutor General
“We have already developed algorithms that, thanks to the training provided by our international partners, have been applied to international investigation standards. As a result, we already have hundreds of thousands of war crimes registered by the National Police alone, thousands of suspicions, cases sent to court and the first sentences, for which I would also like to thank the judiciary. These verdicts form the basis of our work both in national courts and in international institutions. I am confident that thanks to all this work, war criminals will be brought to accountability. I would also like to specifically highlight one of the projects that we are implementing together with the Council of Europe, which is at the final stage of completion - the Strategy for War Crimes Investigation, which will be presented in one week from today. I am convinced that this project will provide for a high-quality basis for documenting, investigating and prosecuting war crimes” – Mr. Maksym Tsutskiridze, First Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine - Head of the Main Investigation Department.
“The SBI's priority is to introduce institutional practices and changes that are both innovative and in line with European standards, enhance the effectiveness of our work, and create preconditions for uninterrupted modern professional development of our staff. Hence, we form common values in the field of human rights protection and inevitability of punishment, including for war criminals. We are grateful to the Council of Europe for its support every step of the way” – Mr. Oleksandr Sokolov, Deputy Director of the State Bureau of Investigation.
“The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights believes that every document should serve a purpose and not exist merely for the sake of documentation. Together with the Project, we have prepared and presented the Concept for improving the national system of legal remedies and support for individuals affected by the armed aggression against Ukraine. You can draft the best document, but it might still fail to gain support. Fortunately, we found those who supported us, for which we are deeply grateful and in the nearest future, this document will be transformed into a Presidential Decree. We sincerely hope that our further cooperation with Council of Europe will be as robust as possible. For our part, we will ensure the swift implementation of the projects we introduce together" – Ms. Olga Altunina, Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on the Rights of Citizens Affected by the Armed Aggression Against Ukraine.
"I would like to sincerely thank the four teams of the Council of Europe with whom we work equally intensively and productively for their support. Thanks to this collaboration, today we almost – if not 100%, then 98% – understand the situation in protecting the rights of war-affected people, their needs, and the necessity for further progress” – Ms. Dariia Marchak, First Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine.
Concluding the event, Ms Lilja Gretarsdottir, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Human Rights, Justice and Legal Cooperation Standards of the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe underlined “We remain 100% committed to continuing supporting Ukraine in advancing justice, accountability, and long-term reforms for the human rights protection, rule of law and democratic development in Ukraine. And we should never lose sight of the ultimate aim of any institutional advancement and cooperation. It is to benefit people and uphold their fundamental freedoms.”
View presentations of 2023-2024 results for the projects:
- Strengthening Ukrainian Law Enforcement Agencies During the War and Post-War Period
- Fostering Human Rights in the Criminal Justice System in Ukraine
- Strengthening Judicial and Non-Judicial Remedies for the Human Rights Protection of War-Affected Population in Ukraine
- Support for the Functioning of Justice in the War and Post-War Context in Ukraine
