Symposium on Advancing Effective and Comprehensive Reparation for Victims of the War in Ukraine
[This is an extract from ‘Symposium on Advancing Effective and Comprehensive Reparation for Victims of the War in Ukraine: Introduction‘ published in Opinio Juris on 25.05.26]
When, and how, will victims of the war in Ukraine receive reparation for the harms they have suffered, and continue to experience? What steps must be taken to ensure that domestic and international reparation mechanisms operate effectively and complement each other? How will these mechanisms be funded? Crucially, what role must victims and survivors play in shaping these processes themselves? And is the Ukrainian reparations experience setting a benchmark for similar processes in other contexts? Is further innovation still needed? These are just some of the many live questions at the heart of ongoing debates on reparation for victims of the war in Ukraine. Whilst broader discussions on Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery are taking place in the international community, the space given to reparations has been conspicuously small and siloed.
Given the complexity and urgency of these and related questions, there is a clear need for exchanges of diverse experiences and expertise to identify key challenges and offer potential solutions. Civil society has a unique role to play in fostering and participating in the exchange of experiences, to support a bottom-up community of practice for reparation, and to bring together actors who might otherwise work in silos. This exchange should include local and national perspectives, ensuring that attention is given not only to the technical aspects of reparation processes, but also to social considerations and victims’ priorities. International and comparative exchanges are also crucial for drawing on lessons learned from other contexts, anticipating potential risks and challenges, and employing best practices.
REDRESS has invited a group of experts, including survivors, scholars, and practitioners to contribute to a blog symposium on Advancing Effective and Comprehensive Reparation for Victims of the War in Ukraine. Over the course of the coming week, this series will bring into conversation twelve contributions reflecting on the reparation process for victims of serious international crimes and human rights violations committed in the context of the Russian aggression in Ukrainian territories that began in February 2014 and escalated with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The authors’ perspectives are varied, including several Ukrainian authors, some authors drawing from international experience, and several sharing comparative insights from domestic reparation processes in Guatemala, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and The Gambia. The contributions in this symposium offer valuable lessons and proposals not only for Ukraine’s path forward, but for reparation efforts everywhere.
Photo: Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform via ZUMA Press Wire
