based on the materials of Ukrinform
Oleksandra Matviychuk, a Nobel laureate who advocates for Ukraine in the world, believes that European politicians can do more for Ukraine, namely, make political decisions that will accelerate victory and help restore justice.
“European politicians cannot influence American aid, but I explain that they can definitely influence what is in their area of control. In particular, I emphasized that defending the values of democracy and freedom means doing concrete things,” the human rights activist emphasized.
According to her, these are two important areas: the completion of the creation of a special tribunal for Russia's aggression and the legalization of the transfer of not only the interest on frozen assets, but also the funds themselves.
“I explained in detail to French Foreign Minister Barrot why this tribunal should be created as an international tribunal, not an internationalized one. Otherwise, it will not be able to overcome the immunity of Putin and the top three criminals, which they have under international law,” Matviychuk said.
According to her, the internationalized status means that the tribunal will work on the basis of national legislation, but there will be an international element in the form of international judges and prosecutors.
“People who make decisions should pay attention to the fact that the difference between 'international' and 'internationalized' is actually huge. And leaders need to show political will. Because there is law and there is politics, and there is a discussion between law and politics, which delays punishment and postpones the very beginning of the process,” the human rights activist emphasized.
She also reminded that last year an international center for the investigation of criminal aggression was established. Five countries delegated their prosecutors to it. And the United States of America, although not among these five, also sent its prosecutor.
“This means that when the special tribunal is established, it does not have to start the investigation from scratch. It is already underway, and it is already international,” Matviychuk added.
She noted that another political decision that needs to be made is the confiscation of 300 billion of frozen Russian state assets, the vast majority of which are in Europe.
“It is clear that the entire confiscation procedure must be carried out in strict accordance with the rule of law. But first there must be a political decision to find this procedure. And this has not happened yet. So when we say that European leaders can do more, we mean concrete steps,” the Nobel Prize winner emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrainian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to increase military support for Ukraine during a meeting with the latter.
Photo: Paris Peace Forum
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