PACE Adopts Resolution on Holding Russia Accountable for War Against Ukraine
On 9 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported a resolution to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its aggression against Ukraine, with 100 votes cast in favour of the document.
The Gaze reports on it with reference to the FREEDOM TV channel.
According to the channel's correspondent, Oleh Borysov, the resolution is entitled ‘Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine: the need to bring to justice, avoid impunity’ and contains 16 points, in addition to seven more points in the recommendations. All of them have been worked on for a long time in political committees. The resolution calls for the Russian Federation to be held directly accountable for its missile attacks. But in more detail, the document covers an important component for achieving justice, namely the establishment of a special tribunal, an international mechanism for compensation and prosecution for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The resolution was authored by the head of the Romanian delegation, Iulian Bulai.
"In a world where great powers are playing with narratives that do not include honest peace and justice as an essential element for ending war, it is more important than ever that we in the Council of Europe do just that. When I proposed this debate in March in Paris, I thought about this. Both the big players are thinking about agreements in terms of exchanging goods and about the war in Ukraine, without taking into account justice and a just peace. This is the place where we initiated movements based on the joint institutions of an international tribunal for the condemnation of crimes and aggression. We are the ones who started registering damages. We are the ones who launched the compensation mechanisms," said Julian Bulai, head of the Romanian delegation to PACE and author of the resolution.
The work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe continues. The next meetings will include hearings and speeches on prisoners of war and captured journalists held by the Russian Federation. Also, at these hearings, a journalist from the FREEDOM TV channel will speak about Russian strikes on the office building housing Ukraine's foreign broadcasting channels.
Emanuelis Zingeris, a member of the Lithuanian delegation to PACE, said in a commentary to FREEDOM TV that the resolution is a political victory for Ukraine and its partners.
"This is a political victory. This is a ray of light on the injustice, the lies that Kremlin Moscow breathes, on their fictitious statements that Russia is allegedly approaching the point of negotiations, a ceasefire. At the same time, there are no negotiations, and on the contrary, the destruction of Ukraine and Ukrainian cities is intensifying. And we see that they plan to continue such actions," he said.
Singeris stressed that the resolution is a response to Russia's actions and position. Europe thus demonstrates that it did not believe ‘the deceptive moves of the so-called parties that seem to be seeking peace’.
On 11 April, the spring session of the PACE takes place in Strasbourg, France. The topic of Ukraine and countering Russian aggression is one of the main ones.
During the session, the issues of sanctions pressure on Russia, Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, and deported Ukrainian children are being discussed. The PACE has already supported two important resolutions - ‘Foreign interference - a threat to democratic security in Europe’ and ‘Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine: the need to bring to justice, avoid impunity’.
As The Gaze reported earlier, on April 8, the Ukrainian delegation head to the PACE, Mariia Mezentseva-Fedorenko, discussed key issues on Ukraine's agenda, including the return of deported children, prisoner exchanges, and the establishment of a special tribunal for Putin.