Olha Stefanishyna: Providing urgent interim reparations today should become an important element of achieving justice in the future

Today, on 4 March, Kyiv hosted an international conference “Restoration of the conflict-related sexual violence survivor’s rights: an element of peace and world security” with the participation of First Lady Olena Zelenska, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, representatives of the Government and Parliament, NGOs and a wide range of international partners.

The conference brought together the international community to strengthen the implementation of effective assistance to all survivors of sexual violence during russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as to find ways to achieve real justice. During the event, it was discussed that reparations should be one of the key elements for restoring the rights of victims of conflict-related sexual violence.

In particular, the event was attended by representatives of the following countries: Great Britain, Japan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luxembourg, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland, Moldova, Sweden, Finland and others.

First Lady Olena Zelenska stressed that victims of sexual violence during the war cannot wait for “classic” reparations when the war ends or when russia agrees to pay compensation. Action must be taken immediately.

“Reparations to victims of gross human rights violations, including victims of conflict-related sexual violence, are not just about economic support. It is an important step towards restoring justice. And this justice is needed not only in Ukraine. Justice for Ukrainian victims of violence is now a mirror for the world itself,” Olena Zelenska said.

As part of the event, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna presented Ukraine’s first project on urgent interim reparations for victims of wartime sexual violence. The initiative is the first such case in the history of reparations measures, when the state, together with civil society and NGOs, develops steps to pay urgent interim reparations during the war.

“From the very beginning of the full-scale war, we began to receive information about cases of sexual violence and torture against the Ukrainian population by russian soldiers. We have united within the country and with our international partners and started to act in favour of the victims. We have set up centres to help survivors across the country so that everyone can get the help they need. But we understand that this is not enough. Therefore, we are launching a pilot project to pay immediate interim reparations. This will help restore the rights of the victims,” said Olha Stefanishyna.

The project involves the identification of victims of sexual violence, determining whether each individual case meets the criteria of sexual violence, and directly paying interim compensation to identified victims.

The project will primarily take into account the personal approach to each victim, as well as their suggestions. Thus, the victims are already involved in all processes within the project. The project envisages providing one-time interim compensation to all identified victims by the end of October 2024. Under the Pilot Project, 500 people will be able to receive one-time interim compensation.

The project was initiated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine in cooperation with the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and the Global Survivors Fund. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor General, the International Register of Damage and the Ministry of Justice.

According to the Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie Helen, who spoke in an online address, the scale of conflict-related sexual violence around the world, from Myanmar to Ethiopia, from Colombia to Sudan, from the current crisis in the Middle East to Ukraine, is enormous. Today, thousands of women, men, boys and girls suffer from sexual violence. In Ukraine, women and men survivors are bravely speaking out about their experiences of the worst atrocities they have suffered since the outbreak of full-scale war in 2022. This conference is an important opportunity to ensure that these survivors are not forgotten. To draw attention to their bravery and the need to ensure justice and accountability for all those responsible for the crimes committed.

During the event, in particular, it was stated that the Government and Parliament, in close coordination with the victims, have already done significant work on legislative initiatives to create a confidential register of victims of russia’s armed aggression, the status of victims of the CRSV and to ensure urgent interim reparations.

“When we talk about reparations mechanisms for victims, we are not talking solely about financial support, because this is not enough. This is a multifaceted mechanism of compensation and support. We are currently working on the relevant legislative changes. In particular, the already registered draft law No. 10256 on the registration of persons whose lives and health were damaged as a result of russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine is important. This is necessary for the victims to receive confidential, comprehensive support,” said Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy.

During the first discussion panel, the participants stressed that all the current work of the state took into account the comparative experience of other countries and at the same time was adapted to the realities of the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine.

“The state should clearly identify conflict-related sexual violence as a war crime. Reparations for these crimes should take place in the general context of reparations for other war crimes. Work on this compensation should not be delayed, and russia should pay for what it has done. The Verkhovna Rada has established a provisional investigatory commission to investigate the facts of sexual violence committed as a result of russia’s armed aggression. The Parliament is ready to join all initiatives and adopt laws that will ensure justice for the victims,” stressed Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratyuk.

In particular, it was emphasised that Ukraine’s experience could become a best practice and serve as a guideline for other countries in armed conflict.

Government Commissioner for Gender Policy Kateryna Levchenko, in turn, presented a joint Declaration on the results of the event on global efforts to support survivors of sexual violence through reparations.

Among the speakers at the conference: Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine; Denise Brown, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine; Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security; Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and others.

The event was organised by the Government of Ukraine with the support of the UK Government and in partnership with the Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association "JurFem" and the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

Background

To date, prosecutors have recorded 274 cases of CRSV. It is difficult to estimate the true scale of these crimes given the ongoing hostilities, russia’s temporary occupation of part of Ukrainian territory, limited access to assistance and stigma. The experience of other countries shows that survivors may report CRSV many years later.

Immediate interim reparations are a form of compensation for victims that does not require waiting for the aggressor country to compensate the people and country it attacked.