Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, attended today in Dublin a conference to mark the 3rd anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, organised by the Dublin City University in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland. He joined an impressive line-up of speakers, including the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, delivering a keynote address in the opening of the conference.
The Deputy Secretary General gave an overview of the Council of Europe's activities to support Ukraine in ensuring peace, justice, accountability and post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian society. He pointed to the activities of the Council of Europe's fully functioning and unique mechanisms such as the European Court of Human Rights, which is hearing inter-state and thousands of individual cases relating to the war in Ukraine, and the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which is processing thousands of claims relating to the damage caused by the war. He also noted the Council of Europe's efforts to ensure justice and accountability for Ukraine through the ongoing initiatives of more than 40 member and non-member states to establish a Claims Commission and a Special Tribunal for Aggression within the framework of the Council of Europe. The Deputy Secretary General stressed that "the Council of Europe stands ready to complete this work but that the political will in that direction must come from the states." He also outlined the Council of Europe's important activities to support the functioning of the Ukrainian society through the Action Plan for Ukraine underlying that sustained resources are needed for the operation of the Action Plan. The Deputy Secretary General concluded his intervention by calling for action in ensuring that Ukrainian and European voices are heard in any negotiations seeking to end the conflict in Ukraine and in ensuring accountability and ways to eliminate impunity.
During his stay in Ireland, the Deputy Secretary General briefly met with Minister Byrne and had a working lunch with other senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and on the current geopolitical situation in Europe. They agreed on the important role of the Council of Europe to ensure the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. They discussed, in particular, the initiative for a new Democratic Pact, the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, cybercrime and the developments of new technologies as well as the importance of supporting the work of the European Court of Human Rights and to ensure an effective execution of its judgments.
The Deputy Secretary General also met with Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of Parliament), Verona Murphy. They discussed the current situation in Europe and the state of European democracy. The Deputy Secretary General briefed Ms Murphey on the initiative towards a new Democratic Pact which is a process intended to renew our commitments to the democratic values in Europe.
