The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, in its latest quarterly meeting on the execution of the European Court's judgments, has for the first time considered the judgment in the inter-state case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia concerning events in the east of Ukraine since 2014 and throughout Ukraine from 24 February 2022, including the downing of the MH17 flight in July 2014.
Russia remains bound by obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to implement judgments of the European Court, despite no longer being a state party to the Convention and having ceased all communication with the Council of Europe on the implementation of European Court judgments. Therefore, the Committee of Ministers, in its decision, invited the member states to explore all possible means to ensure execution of this judgment in order to ensure accountability for all of the serious breaches of international law established in it.
"International cooperation is essential to secure the implementation of this historic judgment", the committee said. The Council of Europe will bring these decisions to the attention of other international bodies and organisations, notably the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and European Union, requesting them to take into account the Court's findings.
This decision from the Committee of Ministers is a significant step towards our collective goal, namely holding Russia accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine," said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset. "It is a key part of the Council of Europe's efforts, which also include the Register of Damage for Ukraine and the future International Claims Commission."
The events in Ukraine are unprecedented in the history of the Council of Europe, and the nature and scale of the violence and the ominous statements from Russia concerning Ukraine's right to exist represent a threat to peace in Europe, and undermine the very fabric of the democracy on which the Council of Europe and its member States are founded, the Committee of Ministers underlined in its decision. The committee condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's ongoing war of agression against Ukraine and exhorted the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally cease its aggression against Ukraine.
Condemning again in the strongest possible terms the downing of the civilian flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, the committee pointed out the profound suffering of the victims' next of kin, aggravated by Russia's denials and obstruction into the investigation amounting to inhuman treatment, insisted on the need for the Russian authorities to issue a public apology, acknowledging their responsibility for the death of all 298 persons on board, including children.
The Committee of Ministers also examined Russia's administrative practices starting from 2014 until September 2022 revealed by the European Court in its judgment: unlawful military attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine during the hostilities, conduct of Russian agents in occupied territory, as well as abduction and transfer to Russia of Ukrainian children.
It deplored in the strongest terms Russia' complete disregard for the lives and well-being of civilians living in heavily targeted cities and those under siege and the abhorrent acts of violence, including widespread and systematic use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, inflicted on a massive scale on civilians and soldiers hors de combat. The committee exhorted Russia to abide by its international law obligations, ensure the immediate cessation of all the systemic breaches of the Convention on human rights, and release or safely return to the jurisdiction of Ukrainian authorities all persons who were deprived of liberty on Ukrainian territory. The committee invited all member states to explore all possible means to support the safe and secure return of these persons to Ukraine as a matter of urgency.
The committee deeply deplored the systematic practice of unlawful transfer to Russia and the adoption there of Ukrainian children with the aim of integrating them potentially indefinitely in families or institutions in Russia. It urged the Russian authorities to revoke all domestic legislation and practices that facilitate the adoption of these children and the imposition of Russian nationality on children born in the occupied territories. The committee exhorted the Russian authorities to share a list of the names and locations of children that have been illegally deported from Ukraine. An analysis of the ongoing developments and efforts on the international stage to identify abducted Ukrainian children, restore their contacts with families and guardians, and ensure their return, will be carried out by the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers will return to this issue of the European Court judgment in June 2026.
At its meeting, the Committee of Ministers has also taken stock of the situation and the measures taken regarding other Russian cases pending execution, as well as developments in 2025. Currently, there are 2,996 judgments against Russian Federation which need to be implemented. Just satisfaction due, including the interest accrued, amounts to over EUR 163 million in inter-state cases and over EUR 2.9 billion in individual cases. In accordance with its previously adopted strategy, the committee will continue adopting decisions, particularly in inter-state and conflict related cases, as well as in new and impact judgments.
The committee welcomed the continued submission of communications, in particular by applicants and NGOs, reiterated that these constitute a vital source of information about the state of human-rights situation in Russia, and encouraged them to continue. The committee's decisions concerning the execution of European Court judgments against Russia will continue to be brought to the attention of other relevant international organisations to increase international pressure on the Russian Federation to fully abide by the judgments of the Court.
Cooperation with civil society, including through continuing informal exchanges of views between the Committee of Ministers and representatives of Russian NGOs relating to pending Russian cases, is to be reinforced. The latest such informal exchange took place on 1 December. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, a representative of the UN working group on enforced and involuntary disappearances, as well as of the Memorial human rights defence centre and of European human rights advocacy centre took part in the informal exchange that focused on prohibition of torture, enforced disappearances and on further restrictions of freedom of expression, notably concerning "discrediting Russian military and spreading 'fake news' about its actions in Ukraine", as highlighted in the recent European Court judgments.
Committee of Ministers' Strategy on Russian cases
