Netherlands Pledges New Aid to Boost Ukraine’s Justice System and Accountability Efforts
The Netherlands will allocate €10 million to support Ukraine’s justice sector and the reform of its Bureau of Economic Security (BES), Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel announced during his visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
He also confirmed plans for the Netherlands to host a diplomatic conference in December aimed at establishing an international mechanism to handle Ukraine’s war-damage claims against Russia.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Weel’s post on social media platform X.
Van Weel stated that €9 million of the new package will go toward the project “Restoring Dignity and Justice in Ukraine,” which will strengthen the investigation of international crimes through Ukraine’s national justice system.
“Through this contribution, we support Ukraine's prosecution of international crimes through its national justice system. This is crucial for achieving accountability,” the minister said.
An additional €1 million will be directed to the reform of the Bureau of Economic Security, which van Weel described as being “at the forefront of Ukraine’s fight against corruption.”
At a joint press conference, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the Netherlands’ ongoing leadership in promoting accountability for Russia’s aggression.
He noted that one of the main topics of their talks was legal and institutional mechanisms for bringing Russian officials to justice and compensating victims of the war.
“We highly appreciate the Netherlands’ leadership, and personally my Dutch colleague’s role in advancing the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression,” Sybiha said. “We welcome the Dutch initiative to hold a diplomatic conference in December to adopt a Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.”
According to the Ukrainian FM, more than 65,000 claims have already been submitted to the Register of Damage created under the Council of Europe to document the destruction and losses caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion. He stressed that “justice must be restored, and the aggressor must bear full responsibility for all crimes committed.”
As The Gaze previously reported, the Netherlands is allocating an additional €25 million to Ukraine for energy support ahead of winter.