Minister Burke attends Restoring Justice for Ukraine Conference
- Foilsithe: 2 Aibreán 2024
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 3 Lúnasa 2024
Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Peter Burke has joined representatives from 56 other countries at the Restoring Justice for Ukraine Conference in The Hague. Minister Burke underlined Ireland’s commitment to international justice at the conference by pledging a €1 million voluntary contribution to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. This contribution is for the benefit of all situations being investigated and prosecuted by the Prosecutor, including Ukraine and Palestine.
Speaking at the Conference, Minister Burke said:
“In over two years since Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full scale invasion, Ukraine and its people have suffered immensely. Such suffering demands justice. It is therefore incumbent on us, as members of the international community, to redouble our efforts at ending impunity for those responsible for atrocity crimes in Ukraine.”
The conference also marked the formal launch of the claims’ submissions process for the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine.
Minister Burke said:
"On behalf of Ireland, a founding member of the Register, I welcome the opening of the claims’ submission process as an important step towards achieving restorative justice for victims of Russia’s aggression.”
Notes
The €1 million voluntary contribution to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is part of a €3 million voluntary contribution to the ICC announced in November 2023. The decision to disburse part of this voluntary contribution to the Office of the Prosecutor was made after consultations with the Court officials on how this contribution can best support the important mandate of the ICC. Announcements on the disbursement of the remaining €2 million are expected to be made shortly.
This funding is in addition to the voluntary contribution of €3 million made to the ICC in 2022 and Ireland’s assessed annual contribution to the Court’s budget, which was €1.5 million in 2024.
Pursuant to the Financial Regulations and Rules of the ICC, and in order to protect the independence and impartiality of the Court, states cannot earmark voluntary contributions for specific investigations or prosecutions.