Preview document (🔗 origineel)

---

Sep 16, 2024 Kyiv, Ukraine

Request for holding a Parliamentary event at the Dutch Parliament

“Echoes of Tragedy:

Civilian and Child Testimonies on the Russia's War Against Ukraine”

On behalf of the Civil Network OPORA and the International Center for Ukrainian Victory, we extend our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s unprovoked invasion. The Netherlands is one of the global leaders in supporting Ukraine, thus we sincerely appreciate your dedication, and the role the Dutch are playing as one of the first of Ukraine's allies to adopt a long-term support plan.

With this letter, we kindly request your assistance in organizing Parliamentary hearings in the House of Representatives during autumn 2024. The event aims to highlight the devastating effects of the war, with a particular focus on the personal experiences of civilians and children. Key topics will include the impact of the war on children, migration trends and their implications for future generations, as well as a broader examination of the war's genocidal aspects. Special attention will also be given to Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities, through missile and drone attacks. These tactics are part of a calculated effort to depopulate Ukraine and weaken its capacity to resist Kremlin aggression.

OPORA has previous successful experience of holding similar Parliamentary events in the United Kingdom and Lithuania in February and April, 2024. Both events brought together a diverse group of speakers, including MPs, Vice Speaker of Lithuanian Seimas, Attorney General for England and Wales, children survivors, and witnesses of war crimes, along with civil society experts sharing analysis of shelling of critical infrastructure and its impact on migration.

We truly believe that the event at the Dutch Parliament will be a good ground for open conversation with the Members of Parliament and other stakeholders to reassure them in further support of Ukraine on the domestic and international arenas.

Format:

• Opening Remarks

• Testimonies from children affected by the war and discussion on possible avenues of legal and political accountability for the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine

• Expert Analysis on the genocidal dimension of the war and importance of international crimes’ documenting for further trials

• Panel Discussion with Q&A Session

• Closing Remarks and Future Steps

Potential participants:

• Survivors and Witnesses from Ukraine;

• Civil society experts in war crimes;

• Members of the Parliament and Government Officials;

• Representatives of the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors;

• Representatives of international organizations and foreign embassies;

• Human Rights Activists;

• Experts in Conflict Studies and International Law;

• Media Representatives

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Kind regards,

Olga Aivazovska,

Civil Network OPORA, ICUV

About organizers:

• OPORA

Civil Network OPORA is a network that has unique expertise at local, national and international levels. We are human rights defenders that monitor the observance of electoral and political rights of citizens. In September 2022, OPORA opened the Center for Assisting in War Crimes Documentation. It is a safe space in Warsaw where every person from Ukraine who eye-witnessed or fell victim to crimes committed by Russians can make their contribution to holding the perpetrators accountable. Professional lawyers fill out the stories in the testimony format and forward it to prosecutors to be considered in national and international courts. To do this efficiently, OPORA cooperates with the Office of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Poland, prosecutors of the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA). The work does not end with the collection of testimonies but continues to monitor the appropriate investigative bodies, and to advocate internationally for the inescapable punishment.

• International Center for Ukrainian Victory

This is a public diplomacy platform for victory founded in Warsaw by Ukrainian civil society activists to encourage opinion leaders around the world to support Ukraine. The Center’s objective is to mobilize the world for Ukrainian victory. Its experts deal with the following areas: weapons supply to Ukraine, special tribunal establishment and punishing Russia for war crimes; combating nuclear terrorism and preserving Ukraine’s energy system; seizure of Russian assets; strengthening sanctions against Russia; and acceleration of the European integration of Ukraine.

• The ‘Voices of Children’ Foundation

The Voices of Children Foundation has been helping children affected by the war since 2015. They provide psychological and psychosocial support to children. It helps them overcome the consequences of armed conflict and develop. Today, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, they are providing non-stop assistance to affected children and families from all over the country, providing emergency psychological assistance, and assisting in the evacuation process.