Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, are among senior politicians from across Europe and beyond who are gathering at the World Forum in The Hague today to launch a new convention setting up an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. The event is being hosting jointly by the Council of Europe and the Netherlands.
The International Claims Commission will form the second part of a compensation mechanism concerning Russia's aggression, building on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine. The claims commission will be established within the framework of the Council of Europe and will also be open to other countries.
"The Council of Europe and partners have been supporting Ukraine in resisting Russia's full-scale aggression since day one," said Secretary General Alain Berset ahead of the event.
"Working together, we must now be ready to support Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace. The Register of Damage for Ukraine and the International Claims Commission will be the independent international tools dealing with the question of compensation for Russia's war."
The Register of Damage for Ukraine, created in 2023, collects and records compensation claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine. 44 states and the European Union have so far joined the Register, which has already received over 80,000 claims.
Formal negotiations on the International Claims Commission were convened by the Netherlands and Ukraine, with the support of the Council of Europe, earlier this year. More than 50 interested states, and the European Union, worked on drawing up a Council of Europe convention setting up the commission. The convention is open to other countries and regional organisations to join.
The International Claims Commission will review, assess and decide upon claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine and determine the amount of compensation, if any, which is due in each case. The convention establishing the commission will enter into force after it has been ratified by 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funds have been secured to support the commission's initial work.
Watch the event *live* on 16 December
The Council of Europe's support for Ukraine
