Canada joins Register of Damage for Ukraine

May 17, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

Canada is working alongside its international partners to hold Russia to account as it continues to attack Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the rules-based international order.

Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada is joining the Council of Europe’s (COE’s) Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine as a founding associate member. The Register is a legal mechanism that will serve as an important first step toward ensuring justice for Ukraine, including compensation for the considerable damage it has sustained as a result of Russia’s aggression.

Canada joined the Register today at the Summit of the Council of Europe, in Reykjavik, Iceland, where Canada was represented by Stéphane Dion, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe.

The Register will serve to record evidence and claims regarding damage, loss or injury caused by Russia’s illegal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as to promote and coordinate evidence gathering. This repository of evidence will help support the establishment of a compensation mechanism at a later stage that will enable the people of Ukraine to rebuild their country and their lives.