Minister Hoekstra launches 'Dialogue Group on Accountability for Ukraine' in Ukraine

Today at the United for Justice Conference in Lviv, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra launched the Dialogue Group on Accountability for Ukraine. The Dialogue Group is a coordination mechanism that offers countries, international organisations and stakeholders from civil society a platform to discuss and align national and international accountability initiatives.

‘It’s great to see so more support from the international community for investigating crimes committed during this war and achieving justice for Ukraine,’ said Mr Hoekstra. ‘But with so many initiatives and good ideas circulating, there’s a need for coordination and oversight. This Dialogue Group will play an important and highly necessary role in that regard.’

The Dialogue Group on Accountability for Ukraine

The Dialogue Group consists of four ‘work flows’, each of which has its own focus:

  1. the support of international parties for Ukraine;
  2. actions being taken by regional and international institutions;
  3. national investigations;
  4. ongoing documentation initiatives on the part of civil society.

Each of these workflows is headed by appointed co-chairpersons, including representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the EU, civil society and, in every case, a representative from Ukraine. ‘Everything we do for Ukraine must also be done with Ukraine. They have to be in the driver’s seat. The Dialogue Group will ensure that this remains the case,’ the Minister said.

The Dialogue Group is an initiative by Ukraine, the ICC and the EU. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, the Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and the President of Eurojust Ladislav Hamran were also present for the launch.

Last year: Ukraine Accountability Conference

At last year’s Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, which was organised by the Netherlands in collaboration with Ukraine, the International Criminal Court and Eurojust, 45 countries pledged their political commitment to the Dialogue Group. Today’s launch in Lviv represents the first step towards transforming this commitment into results. The first meetings of the work flows are planned for April.