As delivered by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Thank you dear President Zelenskyy,
Ministers, President of PACE,
Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dnipro. Another strike. Another crime.
This is Europe’s largest war since the Second World War.
This war did not begin last week.
It did not begin this year.
It is relentless… senseless… lawless.
And it is escalating.
***
As new strikes intensify — and global attention shifts elsewhere:
We cannot hide.
We cannot hesitate.
We cannot look away.
***
Dear President Zelenskyy,
Your presence here today in Strasbourg — at the height of the war in Ukraine — sends a very strong message that reaches people far beyond these walls.
As Ukraine’s men, women and children continue to suffer, it tells Europe and the world:
That law must speak louder than the bombs.
That the arc of history bends toward justice.
And that this Europe — 46 nations strong — will write its own destiny.
***
We always have a choice.
We can treat aggression as politics — not a crime.
We can let those who planned and launched the war in Ukraine walk free.
We can let global attention drift — and pretend that Europe’s security, and Europe’s values, are not on trial again.
But that would be the wrong choice.
***
Ukraine did not choose this war — Russia did.
And from day one, the Council of Europe rose to the moment.
We — the wide European family — excluded Russia.
We, at the Council of Europe, created a Register of Damage — with more than thirty thousand claims and counting.
***
Mr. President,
You are here — at the heart of what Europe is today:
Forty-six nations, united in their determination to shape their future.
You stand at the core of our European institutions:
The Committee of Ministers representing here in this room the governments of forty-six member states.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
And the European Court of Human Rights — which continues to hear thousands of cases from this war, and from Crimea and Donbas before it.
On the ninth of July, the European Court of Human Rights will deliver a major ruling.
An interstate case covering Russia’s military actions since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 — and the conflict that began in 2014, including the downing of flight MH17.
A judgment that will speak not only to Ukraine — but to Europe, and to the world.
***
Ukraine and the Council of Europe are signing an agreement to establish the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
A tribunal to judge between victims and aggressors.
Between impunity and accountability.
Because without accountability, there can be no lasting peace for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.
***
Last Sunday was Ukraine’s Day of Mourning and Remembrance of War Victims.
This Saturday, Ukraine will celebrate Constitution Day.
And this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Ukraine’s accession to the Council of Europe.
At this very moment, this historic signature reminds us:
That we are building a strong Europe — for more justice, and for more stability in the world.
That the rule of law is — and must remain — the bedrock of our societies.
And that international law must apply to all — with no exceptions, and with no double standards.
***
Que vive L’Ukraine libre.
Et que vive l’Europe.