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# 									Remarks for “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” Conference							

Remarks

Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal JusticeOffice of Global Criminal Justice

The Hague

April 2, 2024

*As Prepared for Delivery*

I’m grateful to be here today with all of you who are singularly committed to delivering justice for Ukraine and its people. We have an opportunity to reiterate and strengthen our collective resolve and to reflect on what more we can all do.

The United States remains committed to pursuing five pathways to justice for Ukraine. Our work in the Dialogue Group is devoted to the following:

1) To advance Work Stream 1, we are supporting Ukraine’s authorities as they document, investigate, and prosecute international crimes and ensure meaningful participation of victims and witnesses;

2) Our contributions to Work Stream 2 include our efforts to assist the work of international institutions;

3) In keeping with Work Streams 3 and 4, we are contributing to efforts to investigate and prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine;

4) We are also providing funding to civil society organizations building and pursuing cases outside of Ukraine under principles of extraterritorial jurisdiction; and finally,

5) We are invoking our own legal authorities to advance accountability for Russian aggression and atrocities, such as our recent war crimes indictment and ongoing efforts to seize illicit Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.

Today, I want to focus on two of these pathways—supporting Ukraine’s authorities and international institutions.

Ukraine’s authorities are investigating and prosecuting the vast majority of cases, and they will be confronting this immense challenge for many years to come. National institutions should always be the route of first resort, and supporting domestic capacity is foundational to Ukraine’s secure, democratic, and just future. These needs are regularly discussed in the Dialogue Group and should continue to be our collective priority.

The United States is a proud co-founder of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, an initiative we launched with the United Kingdom and the European Union in coordination with Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The ACA is providing timely and multidisciplinary training, consultation, and strategic guidance to Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General as it works to strengthen its capacity to build strong and fair cases against those responsible for atrocities and to deliver victim-centered justice.

ACA experts are helping the OPG to prioritize cases given the immense scale and complexity of the crime base. ACA experts have advised on hundreds of cases related to international crimes and carried out over 100 field missions to 15 regions across Ukraine to support regional prosecutors and investigators. ACA implementing entities provide training and other support aimed not only at building cases against perpetrators but also at elevating the needs of victims. The focus remains on cooperation, sustainability, and impact, in Kyiv and across the country, wherever atrocities have been committed.

Recognizing that this work will span many years, the ACA Founding Partners have launched a Multi-National Fund to enable other donors to join the ACA’s efforts to help Ukraine’s authorities deliver comprehensive and fair justice. We invite you to join us in this initiative.

The United States also reaffirms our robust assistance to the international institutions and investigations working steadfastly to advance justice for Ukraine, including the many efforts here in The Hague. This includes our support to the ICC’s investigation into the situation in Ukraine. We are also

proud to be a founding Associate Member of the Register of Damage and to have been among the first to participate in the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. We will continue to pursue these efforts and encourage others to do so as well, including by joining the Register of Damage.

I will close with two key messages.

First, the United States remains committed to working with all of you to support the various interlocking pathways to justice for Ukraine.

And second, the needs of those most affected by Russia’s war must be prioritized. While the unprecedented international mobilization around prosecutions must continue, our end goal is not just criminal accountability. Rather, we must all work to ensure meaningful and comprehensive justice for the people of Ukraine. This includes helping the people of Ukraine heal, rebuild, and establish the inclusive, secure democracy they are fighting for. Thank you.

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Bureau of European and Eurasian AffairsOffice of Global Criminal JusticeUkraine

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