Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea and its involvement in the war in Donbas, both in their seventh year now, have left Ukraine with 13,000 fatalities and 1.5 million of internally displaced people (IDPs). Mass human rights abuses continue to be reported in the areas under Russian control. To hold Russia accountable, Ukraine has appealed to all available international courts. However, the government is increasingly realizing that the key war crime proceedings and reconciliation initiatives need to be developed domestically. President Zelenskyy is the first Ukrainian top official to stress the need to start working out the details of Kyiv’s transitional justice policy.
Kateryna Busol will assess how these developments complement Kyiv’s international lawfare strategy and outreach - including to the UN, PACE, and the EU - attempting to address Russia’s aggression. The discussion will also address the best approaches to post-conflict truth-telling and amnesties - the key components for making Ukraine’s emerging transitional justice roadmap viable. The event is intended to serve as a study group for Dr Busol’s forthcoming research paper, and we encourage the participants to offer feedback either during the event or afterwards.
