24/06/2025 Session
“Certain fundamental principles of international law must not and cannot be set aside or undermined in any ongoing or future negotiations,” said PACE today. The Assembly condemned the “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine” and warned against proposals to legitimise the annexation of Ukrainian territory through war.
Adopting a resolution based on a report by Eerik-Niiles Kross (Estonia, ALDE), the Assembly reaffirms Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, including Crimea, and expresses concern about the evolving foreign policy of the new US administration, which it believes risks weakening global accountability efforts. It is concerned about the disengagement of the US from these efforts, including withdrawal from the Core Group on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, and calls out the suspension of justice initiatives due to reduced aid.
The Assembly urges all member states to swiftly adopt the necessary decisions for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, and calls on observer and partner-for-democracy States to join the future enlarged partial agreement in support of the tribunal. It also calls on States to support the Register of Damage for Ukraine and work towards the creation of a claims commission and compensation fund, ensuring reparations remain central to any future peace settlement.
It further invites the International Criminal Court to consider adding new charges related to crimes against humanity and genocide, in connection with the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children and the enforced disappearance and torture of civilians. It encourages states to use “universal jurisdiction” to prosecute atrocity crimes, and urges increased assistance to Ukrainian prosecutorial authorities and international accountability mechanisms.
The Assembly also condemns the militarisation and political indoctrination of Ukrainian children in territories temporarily occupied by Russia, as well as the policy of ethnic cleansing in those territories, carried out through forced displacement, deportation and violent assimilation. It calls for the immediate establishment of an independent international monitoring mission, preferably under the auspices of the United Nations, to observe and report on the human rights situation in the occupied territories.
PACE also presses the Russian Federation to immediately release all unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians and ensure safe access for the ICRC to all places of detention, while calling for stronger international pressure, including sanctions, to secure the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukrainian children.