On the year marking the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials and the 12th anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that led to the illegal attempted annexation of Crimea, a meeting of human rights defenders from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, along with representatives of international human rights organisations, legal scholars, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, took place. The event was co‑organised with the human rights organisation Austausch e.V. and brought together more than fifty participants.
The main purpose of the meeting was to exchange experiences on a variety of mechanisms to counter impunity, document war crimes, discuss effective advocacy methods, and analyse systemic barriers that prevent justice for crimes related to the war in Ukraine.
This was the eighth meeting launched within the HRD programme as a response to the full‑scale invasion and has become a platform for professional dialogue between lawyers and human rights defenders against the backdrop of major changes in the international legal order.
During the Berlin meeting, special attention was paid to joint initiatives promoting various mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction. Participants noted that the importance of such meetings goes far beyond the exchange of experience. In conditions of war and the destruction of legal institutions, they create a unique space for cooperation between the civil societies of the three countries, where professional dialogue becomes a way of preserving human rights standards and provides a platform for discussing post‑war challenges. Participants also presented People1st campaign leaded by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and more than 80 human rights initiatives from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, EU and international organisations calling for the urgency of saving human lives and advocating for release of of those still in detention and captivity.