Financial Accountability and Reparations for Ukraine

Читати українською

REDRESS is working together with partners in Ukraine and around the world to explore potential legal routes for financial accountability and the delivery of reparations to victims affected by the conflict in Ukraine. 

Vast violations of international law including international crimes have been reported in the context of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, the conflict in Eastern Ukraine since 2014, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022. Victims cannot wait until the end of the invasion: urgent action is needed to  address the harms they have suffered and help them to rebuild their lives. Ukraine as a state, and victims of gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law have a right to reparations under international law. 

Our Project
What we do

Our Ukraine project builds upon our existing Sanctions and Asset Recovery projects, and cuts across three key areas:  

We work to: 
  1. Investigate, litigate and advocate for viable financial accountability routes for victims of the conflict in Ukraine; 
  2. Raise awareness of the reparations landscape in Ukraine for international and national stakeholders including survivors, including survivors of CRSV; 
  3. Increase capacity of CSOs and survivors to engage in the reparations mechanisms available or being created; and 
  4. Strengthen the capacity of civil society and other actors to submit sanctions submissions under the UK framework in relation to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and assess the of impact of sanctions. 
How? 
  • We published a briefing ‘SANCTION. CONFISCATE. COMPENSATE. Repurposing Frozen Russian Assets for Victims in Ukraine’ with recommendations to the UK government, and continue our work to develop and advocate for a novel legal basis to confiscate assets in the UK. 
  • Following our open letter to the UK government, we continue our advocacy regarding repurposing the £2.5 billion sale proceeds of Chelsea Football Club for victims in Ukraine. 
  • On the basis of our Framework for Financial Accountability for Torture and Other Human Rights Abuses, we continue to explore, research, and participate in events and discussions surrounding possible financial accountability routes in the context of Ukraine, including the enforcement of judgments, and civil litigation (updates coming soon). 
  • REDRESS is developing a briefing on the current reparations landscape for victims of the conflict in Ukraine in partnership with the Global Survivors Fund, and continue to support national and international actors on the development and implementation of reparations mechanisms. 
  • On the basis of our existing work with the Victims’ Rights Working Group under the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (ICC), we continue to support Ukrainian civil society actors and victims’ representatives to engage in participation and reparations at the ICC. 
  • We published a short explainer for civil society on UK targeted sanctions (update coming soon). 
  • Based on our template for NGO submissions to the UK Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, we train and support civil society actors to draft submissions under the Russia Regulations. 
  • We work as part of a global coalition on sanctions in partnership with Human Rights First. 
Related projects 

Under our Justice International programme, by establishing a Universal Jurisdiction Advocacy Group together with our partner organisations (ECCHR, FIDH and TRIAL International), REDRESS also works to ensure accountability for human rights violations in Ukraine through advancing universal jurisdiction by means of advocacy and strategic litigation.  

For more information, contact Victoria Kerr, Consultant Legal Officer ([email protected]). 

Photo credit: Diana Lozovska/ Pexels