On Tuesday, December 16, during the High-Level Diplomatic Conference in The Hague, on behalf of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha signed the Convention on the Establishment of the International Compensation Commission on behalf of Ukraine, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Achieving justice is a team game, as well as a game of “long-term”. And we are successfully moving forward on this path. Russia and Russians must be punished and must pay for their crimes,” the minister emphasized.

Creating effective international mechanisms for holding the aggressor state accountable and compensating for damages is an extremely important task today.

Andrii Sybiha noted that justice is a key, integral element of real and lasting peace for Ukraine.

The Convention is the third fundamental element of the infrastructure for holding the Russian Federation accountable, along with the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and the Register of Damages.

The Convention establishes the Compensation Commission as an independent international body within the institutional system of the Council of Europe, which will consider claims for compensation for damage, loss and injury caused by internationally wrongful acts of the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine, and will determine the amount of compensation in each specific case.

The Compensation Commission will operate on the basis of the second element of the international compensation mechanism - the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The Register is already operational and accepts applications from citizens of Ukraine through the web portal Diya.

With the launch of the Commission, the transition from the Register to the Commission will be organized in such a way as to maintain the continuity of the process, and the Commission will become the legal successor of the Register together with its digital platform and data.

The applications, which are already being submitted to the Register and will subsequently be accepted and considered by the Commission, concern over 40 categories of damage, loss or harm caused since February 24, 2022 within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, from individuals, legal entities, as well as the state of Ukraine, including its regional and local authorities, state or controlled institutions.

Ukraine’s position is principled and consistent: the aggressor state must pay for the damage caused by the war, and the frozen sovereign assets of the Russian Federation should become a priority source for future payments — as a real embodiment of justice for the victims.

Ukraine, together with partners, continues to work on the third element of the international compensation mechanism — a compensation fund, which should ensure the practical implementation of the Commission’s decisions.

In total, 35 states have signed the Convention, which is a record number.