Strasbourg, 06.12.2024 – The Secretary General of the Council of Europe has concluded a three-day visit to Ukraine (4-6 December), during which he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed next steps in the Council of Europe’s support for Ukraine. He also restated that support for Ukraine remains the Council of Europe’s top priority following the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In their detailed and constructive meeting, the Secretary General confirmed that he will appoint early next year a Special Envoy on the Children of Ukraine. The Special Envoy will coordinate action to ensure respect for the human rights of Ukrainian children in Ukraine itself and those who are currently in other Council of Europe member states.
The Secretary General also announced the setting-up of a Task Force within the Council of Europe to coordinate all the Organisation’s activities in support of Ukraine and to work with external actors on Ukrainian issues.
President Zelenskyy welcomed these specific measures and the Council of Europe’s support as a whole. He also made clear that Ukraine values highly the Register of Damage established by the Council of Europe’s and that he counts on the Organisation’s support in the creation of a Claims Commission as the next step towards a compensation mechanism.
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The Secretary General agreed that it is now time to make decisions on this vital step and that the Council of Europe’s unique experience and expertise will be at Ukraine’s disposal. The same will be true for establishing any Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression.
All of this is designed to help ensure accountability for Russia’s illegal actions against Ukraine, without which there can be no sustainable peace.
During his bilateral meetings with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Shmyhal and in other meetings, the Secretary General also discussed the range of other measures that the Council of Europe is taking for Ukraine, including cases being heard by the European Court of Human Rights and the Organisation’s Action Plan on Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction, as it supports Ukraine on its path to a free, democratic and European future.
While in the country, the Secretary General toured sites of key events in the ongoing war of aggression. These included the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital, where he saw for himself the destruction caused by a Russian missile attack in July of this year. He also travelled to Yahidne where he visited the school basement where more than 300 Ukrainians were trapped by Russian forces for several weeks between March and April 2022. A number of people died there, several killed by Russian soldiers.
“Seeing these places and looking into the faces of people who suffered directly, is a deeply moving experience. Our unwavering support for Ukraine comes from our determination that this unjust and illegal war must end, and accountability must be ensured”, said the Secretary General.
The Secretary General’s visit to Ukraine also included meetings with: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of Verkhovna Rada; Yevhen Perebyinos, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine; Olha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and Minister of Justice; Matviy Bidnyi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine; Oleksiy Khomenko, Acting Prosecutor General of Ukraine and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
Council of Europe