Support for the reconstruction of Ukraine
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 16 April 2024 (10th sitting) (see Doc. 15932, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr Lulzim Basha; and Doc. 15941, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Davor Ivo Stier). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 16 April 2024 (10th sitting).See
also Recommendation 2271
(2024).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reiterates
its deep concern at the extensive devastation and acute suffering
inflicted upon Ukraine and its people by the Russian Federation
with its illegal war of aggression that started in 2014 and escalated
into a large-scale invasion in February 2022, resulting in severe
human and material losses, grave violations of human rights and
numerous war crimes.
2. The Council of Europe has led the way in expressing its solidarity
with Ukraine and its people, condemning the Russian Federation’s
war of aggression against Ukraine and excluding the Russian Federation
from the Organisation because of its serious violation of international
law and statutory obligations. The Council of Europe has also shown
leadership in setting up the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression
of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as a first step towards
establishing a comprehensive system of accountability of the Russian
Federation for its wrongful acts. Consistent with its steadfast
resolve and its focus on democracy, human rights and the rule of
law, the Council of Europe should play a significant role in supporting
the reconstruction efforts in Ukraine by recommending the seizure
of Russian State assets and their use in support of the reconstruction
of Ukraine. This course of action would pursue a threefold objective:
strengthening Ukraine, ensuring the accountability of the Russian
Federation and deterring any other future aggression.
3. The Assembly believes that it is crucial for the international
community, working in concert, to address this challenge and ensure
that the victims of the aggression, Ukraine and its citizens, receive
the reparations they are owed and that there is a path towards justice.
As already called for by the Assembly in its Resolution 2516 (2023)
“Ensuring a just peace in Ukraine and lasting security in Europe”,
this will involve establishing “a comprehensive compensation mechanism,
including an international commission for the examination of claims for
damages recorded in the Register of Damage, and a compensation fund
to pay out on decisions on compensation for damage awarded by the
commission, in particular by confiscating and otherwise using the Russian
Federation’s assets to pay for damage caused by the war in Ukraine”.
4. The documented damage caused to Ukraine’s infrastructure and
economy by the Russian Federation’s aggression had reached a value
of US$416 billion in June 2023. The plight of those who have had
to flee Ukraine because of the war – an estimated 6.2 million people
– is particularly concerning, as a humanitarian emergency in itself
and also because it creates a ripple effect across borders, affecting
neighbouring countries and straining resources on a larger scale.
In addition, it has been estimated that approximately 17.6 million individuals
in Ukraine needed humanitarian assistance in 2023, with 5.1 million
people being internally displaced.
5. The Assembly acknowledges that the non-participation by the
Russian Federation in international dispute settlements hinders
the traditional legal channels for securing reparations. It affirms,
however, the obligation of the aggressor State, the Russian Federation,
to provide full compensation for the damage, loss and injury caused
by its internationally wrongful acts, including the destruction
of infrastructure, loss of life, economic hardships and other adverse
effects, in accordance with the principles of international law.
In this respect, the Assembly recalls the 2001 Articles of the United
Nations on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful
Acts, the 2005 United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on
the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations
of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International
Humanitarian Law and the United Nations General Assembly Resolution
A/RES/ES-11/5 of 14 November 2022 “Furtherance of remedy and reparation
for aggression against Ukraine”, which recognises the need for the
establishment of an international mechanism for reparation.
6. The Assembly notes that several countries holding Russian
State assets have frozen a total of approximately US$300 billion
in Russian State assets. The frozen Russian State financial assets
must be made available for the reconstruction of Ukraine. States
holding these assets should co-operate and transfer them to an international
compensation mechanism. Under international law, States possess
the authority to enact countermeasures against a State that has
seriously breached international law. Now is the time for Council
of Europe member States to move from sanctions to countermeasures.
The Assembly further notes that countermeasures are intended to
induce the offending State to cease its unlawful behaviour or to
comply with its obligations arising from that conduct, such as paying
compensation for damage caused. The Assembly emphasises that the
legitimacy of the recommended countermeasures remains unassailable
within the framework of sovereign immunity.
7. The Assembly acknowledges the long-standing influence of certain
Russian individuals, also referred to as oligarchs, in both domestic
and international politics, shaped by their control over key industries
and substantial assets abroad. This has enabled them to influence
various stakeholders in European countries. Since the beginning
of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014,
a number of enterprises owned by these individuals have been co-operating
with the Russian military-industrial complex. Given this fact, the
European Union, G7 countries and Australia introduced the Russian
Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force in March 2022.
The Assembly believes that the member States need to work on a similar mechanism
to be able to address this issue.
8. The Assembly recognises the endeavours of the member States
in imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and enterprises who
collaborate with the Russian military-industrial complex, particularly
those in heavy industries that facilitate the production of various
types of lethal weaponry. The Assembly believes that the member
States should devise mechanisms for monitoring potential violations
of the sanctions regime, freezing such assets and subsequently transferring
them to the international fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine,
all while upholding the principles of international law and respecting
private property rights.
9. The Assembly believes that creating, under the auspices of
the Council of Europe, an international compensation fund as well
as a compensation mechanism, as a separate international instrument
mandated to examine and adjudicate claims and/or pay compensation
for damage, loss or injury caused by the Russian Federation’s internationally
wrongful acts in or against Ukraine, would provide a structured
way to assess and compensate for the damage suffered by various
stakeholders because of the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion
of Ukraine. This compensation mechanism should cover a range of
losses, including but not limited to infrastructure damage, environmental
effects, economic losses incurred by companies and investors, and the
costs associated with hosting and supporting those who have been
displaced by the aggression, in Ukraine and outside of the country.
10. The Assembly acknowledges that Russian politicians, propagandists,
oligarchs and other war collaborators have amassed significant wealth
through their close ties to Vladimir Putin’s regime and try to influence
the internal politics of European countries, which makes them accomplices
in the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. To ensure
the personal liability of a particular individual, measures such
as freezing and confiscating assets and allocating them to the reconstruction
of Ukraine should be applied. Bearing in mind that certain countries
have already introduced new legislation or amended existing legislation,
and in adherence to principles of private property and international
law, member States are encouraged to develop legislation and legal
mechanisms to confiscate these assets.
11. As the already established Register of Damage undertakes the
laborious process of recording Ukrainian losses in preparation for
an international claims process, countries that have frozen Russian
assets should transfer those assets to an international compensation
fund. An international commission for the examination of claims
for the damage recorded in the register should be created to effectively
address the claims process.
12. In light of these considerations, the Assembly:
12.1 calls on Council of Europe member
States and eligible non-member States to join the Register of Damage
if they have not yet done so;
12.2 calls for the establishment of an international compensation
mechanism under the auspices of the Council of Europe to comprehensively
address the damage incurred by natural and legal persons affected,
including the State of Ukraine, due to the unlawful actions of the
Russian Federation with its invasion of Ukraine;
12.3 urges Council of Europe member and non-member States holding
Russian State assets to actively co-operate in the prompt transfer
of these assets to the established international compensation mechanism,
supports the efforts of the European Union and the United States
and calls upon them and the G7 to act without delay in taking all
necessary steps to ensure that all Russian Federation assets in their
custody are made available for the recovery and reconstruction of
Ukraine;
12.4 insists that the reconstruction of Ukraine is needed right
away without waiting for the end of the aggression, and therefore
calls for the creation of an international trust fund with a clear
deadline for the implementation of this mechanism, into which all
Russian State assets held by Council of Europe member and non-member
States will be deposited, ensuring transparency, accountability
and equity in the disbursement of funds that should be used for
compensating Ukraine and natural and legal persons affected by the
Russian aggression in Ukraine;
12.5 calls for the establishment of an impartial and effective
international claims commission, operating under recognised judicial
norms, to adjudicate claims presented by Ukraine, affected entities and
natural and legal persons seeking reparation for damage caused by
the Russian Federation’s aggression;
12.6 stresses the utmost importance of adhering to established
international legal standards and principles in the transfer and
management of frozen Russian assets, ensuring fairness and proportionality,
and safeguarding the rights of all affected parties as guaranteed
by the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and/or other
international human rights law instruments;
12.7 supports the recourse to countermeasures, as outlined
within the framework of international law, to induce compliance
by the Russian Federation with its international legal obligations
and responsibilities;
12.8 invites States concerned about breaches of erga omnes obligations to actively
participate in the compensation mechanism, thus contributing to
efforts aimed at putting an end to breaches and ensuring just reparations
for affected natural and legal persons, as well as the State of
Ukraine;
12.9 encourages collaborative efforts among member States,
international organisations and all relevant stakeholders to expedite
the process of reconstruction and to ensure comprehensive compensation
for the multifaceted damage caused by the war of aggression of the
Russian Federation, including by considering other complementary
or alternative proposals such as the confiscation of private assets
following a criminal conviction for sanctions violations, introducing
windfall taxes on the interest or profits derived from frozen Russian
State assets or using these assets as collateral for loans to Ukraine;
12.10 calls on member States, international organisations and
all relevant stakeholders to continue working on expanding the list
of sanctioned individuals and companies who are directly or indirectly affiliated
with the Russian defence industry, particularly in metallurgical
and other types of heavy industry, and those who are contributing
to the development of the Russian military-industrial complex;
12.11 calls for a unified and resolute front against aggression,
emphasising the shared responsibility of the international community
in upholding global norms, preventing violations of international
law and promoting lasting peace and stability.
