09/04/2025 Session
“More than eleven years after its start, the illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to rage, causing endless damage and suffering to Ukraine and its people,” today reaffirmed PACE following an urgent debate. The Assembly warned that “failure to ensure accountability for these acts would undermine the multilateral order based on international law.”
The resolution adopted, based on the report prepared by Iulian Bulai (Romania, ALDE), underlines that the war launched by the Russian Federation violates core international legal principles and requires a response to ensure accountability.
The Assembly denounced Russia’s ongoing aggression and violations of international law, including “the attempted annexation of Ukrainian territories and the attempt to commit genocide against the Ukrainian nation, as evidenced by the deportation of Ukrainian children, the systematic destruction of cultural identity and the targeted mass killings of civilians,” which it said “affect not only Ukraine, but the entire international community.”
Welcoming recent progress towards accountability, PACE hailed the outcome of the Core Group’s meeting in Strasbourg and the finalisation of legal texts for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression. It affirmed that the model proposed “has features that make it sufficiently international” and called for a political agreement to move forward regardless of the evolution of peace talks.
The Assembly also welcomed the launch of formal negotiations in The Hague on an international claims commission. It encouraged the creation of this mechanism through “an open Council of Europe convention,” which would ensure cross-regional participation and reinforce the organisation’s leadership.
Calling for long-term support for displaced Ukrainians, the Assembly stressed that temporary protection should only be lifted once “a lasting, just and comprehensive peace” is in place. It also reiterated its support for repurposing frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, urging states “to transfer these assets to an international trust fund” to benefit victims.
PACE expressed its full backing for the International Criminal Court and called on all states to enforce arrest warrants against Russian suspects, including Vladimir Putin. “Peace must be just and based on the principles of international law,” the Assembly concluded, insisting that “any final settlement must not result in impunity.”