Ensuring that the International Compensation Mechanism Works for Survivors: Lessons from Consultations with Survivors and Practitioners in Ukraine
By Arie Mora, REDRESS Legal Consultant
The Register of Damage for Ukraine (“the RD4U” or “the Register”) is a historic step towards securing compensation for victims of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Yet for survivors of torture, sexual violence, unlawful detention and other serious violations, submitting a claim can remain difficult, distressing and, in some cases, inaccessible.
A new REDRESS briefing paper, Strengthening Access to the Register of Damage for Ukraine for Survivors of Torture and Other Related Crimes, draws on consultations with twelve Ukrainian civil society organisations, survivor groups and practitioners to identify barriers survivors face when seeking to submit claims, and proposes measures to make the emerging international compensation mechanism more accessible and survivor-centred.
An important mechanism, but challenges remain
The RD4U is the first component of the developing international compensation mechanism for Ukraine. Its role is to receive, process and record claims concerning damage, loss or injury caused by Russia’s internationally wrongful acts against Ukraine. The future International Claims Commission for Ukraine will be responsible for assessing claims and determining compensation.
For survivors of torture and other serious violations, however, simply reaching the point of submitting a claim can present considerable challenges.
The report identifies eight interconnected barriers, including limited awareness of the Register; lack of trust and motivation; digital and technical difficulties; challenges obtaining and presenting evidence; risks of re-traumatisation; concerns about data protection and security; insufficient referral pathways and support; and broader structural and eligibility concerns.
Some of the most serious harms remain comparatively underrepresented among claims. By July 2026, the Register had received more than 170,000 claims overall. Only 1,113 were in the category covering torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, while 234 concerned sexual violence.
Survivors need clear information and sustained support
For some survivors, uncertainty about whether compensation will ultimately be paid, how long the process will take and how claims will be assessed can discourage engagement. Others face more immediate priorities, including medical and psychological care, rehabilitation, housing, replacement of documents or family tracing.
Technical barriers can compound these difficulties. Claims are currently submitted digitally through Ukraine’s Diia platform (the Ukrainian State’s e-services platform). Survivors may lack reliable internet access, suitable devices or the digital tools required to submit a claim. Electricity cuts, air raids and displacement can interrupt applications, while technical failures sometimes require survivors to repeat work involving painful or sensitive information.
In order to submit a claim to the RD4U, Claimants have the option to submit evidence, and may wish to do so, but it is not required, and gathering evidence can pose a challenge. Survivors may have no documents because records were never created, have been destroyed, remain in occupied areas, or are held by institutions to which they have limited access. Others may already have recounted traumatic experiences repeatedly to investigators, State authorities, journalists or civil society organisations and understandably may not want to do so again.
The report therefore calls for clearer and more accessible guidance, trauma-informed safeguards, improved technical functionality, stronger referral pathways and safe routes for assisted or representative submissions. It also stresses the importance of meaningful survivor and civil society participation in the continued development of the international compensation mechanism.
Compensation must form part of a wider reparation response
The report also emphasises that the international compensation mechanism cannot replace domestic reparation, rehabilitation and assistance for survivors whose needs are immediate.
Survivors of torture, unlawful detention and other serious violations may require medical care, psychological and psychosocial support, legal assistance, housing, livelihood support and help with social reintegration long before international compensation becomes available. International and domestic mechanisms should therefore reinforce one another, while minimising the number of times survivors must recount traumatic experiences or reproduce evidence.
States have a critical role to play. The report calls on States to sustainably fund the international compensation mechanism, support accessible claim-submission pathways and domestic reparation programmes, resource civil society and survivor organisations, and work towards extending the mechanism’s temporal scope to address violations committed since the beginning of Russia’s aggression in 2014.
Ultimately, a compensation mechanism should not be accessible only to those victims who are best equipped to navigate it. If the mechanism is to deliver meaningful reparation, the barriers facing survivors of some of the gravest violations must be addressed from the outset.
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