Leaders and senior officials from across Europe and beyond will convene in The Hague on 16 December to unveil a new Council of Europe convention establishing an
International Claims Commission for Ukraine — a key step in efforts to secure compensation for damage caused by Russia’s war of aggression.
The commission, which will be headquartered in The Hague, represents the second pillar of an emerging international compensation mechanism. It will build on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine, created in 2023 to document claims from individuals, organisations and public bodies affected by the conflict. To date, 44 states and the European Union have joined the register, which has already logged more than 80,000 submissions.
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said the initiative reflects ongoing international commitment to Ukraine. “The Council of Europe and partners have been supporting Ukraine in resisting Russia’s full-scale aggression since day one,” Berset noted ahead of the conference. “Working together, we must now be ready to support Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace. The Register of Damage for Ukraine and the International Claims Commission will be the independent international tools dealing with the question of compensation for Russia’s war.”
Negotiations on the creation of the claims commission began earlier this year, led jointly by the Netherlands and Ukraine with backing from the Council of Europe. More than 50 interested countries, along with the European Union, contributed to drafting the convention. The text remains open for signature by additional states and regional organisations.
Once operational, the International Claims Commission will evaluate submissions from the damage register and determine the level of compensation owed in each case. The convention will enter into force after at least 25 signatories ratify it and sufficient resources are secured to launch the commission’s work.
The diplomatic conference and subsequent press briefing on 16 December will be livestreamed in several languages — including English, French, Spanish and Ukrainian — via the Council of Europe’s website. Photo by Vincent van Zeijst, Wikimedia commons.