Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders decided to allocate a contribution of € 50.000 for the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The fight against impunity is an essential part of the Belgian human rights policy. Restoring justice for victims of human rights violations happens through an objective observation of a violation and increased emphasis on the responsibility of the perpetrators and their accomplices. Establishing the truth about violations of human rights is an essential mechanism for safeguarding those rights.
In the nine reports they have published so far, the United Nations observers have reported gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in eastern Ukraine, where the continuous bombardment of residential areas made numerous civilian casualties, including children. Hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructures have been targeted during the conflict, leading to a shortage of food, medical care, water, electricity, gas and housing for some 150,000 civilians trapped in combat zones.
In the fight against impunity, Minister Reynders, in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, expressed his support for the international advisory group set up by the Council of Europe to monitor the investigation of the events of Maidan and Odessa.