Contribution
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that important point. UK legal expertise is already directly involved in the process through that contribution to the group, but I am sure that the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, would be keen to speak to those pre-eminent lawyers to understand more about what we can do in that area. The need is clearly urgent, but we are also resolutely focused on ensuring that any tribunal has the broad international support that it needs to ensure its legitimacy.
As well as doing what we can as the UK, bilaterally we are making sure that we are working with international partners, as Members would expect. That process will need to address all the critical issues. The hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth raised the specific issue of Head of State immunity, which is one of those critical issues and one that we, together with partners from more than 40 states and institutions, are discussing in the core group established by Ukraine. We appreciate the necessity of holding all those responsible for this war of aggression to account.
The UK, alongside 40 other states, is also a founding member of the international register of damage for Ukraine, which allows individuals to file claims for loss, injury and damage caused by Russia’s illegal invasion. It is an important first step as part of an international compensation mechanism as well as in achieving the required accountability.
Russia must be held responsible for its illegal war in Ukraine. That includes its obligations under international law to pay for the damage that it has caused. Together with our G7 partners, we have agreed to make approximately $50 billion available to Ukraine by the end of the year by advancing the extraordinary profits generated by immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the European Union.
The critical subject of sanctions was mentioned by the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), who is no longer in his place. The new Government are absolutely determined to ensure that sanctions are not circumvented and that we have a robust regime. I am sure Members will be pleased to know that, very soon after the election and through the European political community, the UK managed to ensure a call to action against Russia’s shadow fleet, which has unfortunately been significant in the avoidance of sanctions. We are taking resolute action in that area.
The hon. Member for Strangford, who I thank for his kind remarks, rightly mentioned sanctions. He is right to detail the dreadful situation in Russia. My constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, also mentioned it. For two decades, Putin’s Kremlin has presided over a significant deterioration of human rights. That has intensified over the past two years, and we stand with those who have been impacted by it. We have been particularly concerned about those detained on political grounds—the very brave individuals who have stood for human rights and human dignity. We continue to raise cases, particularly those of British nationals. We have seen some developments, but we still see the dreadful persecution of those who have raised human rights issues.
I will round off my remarks by thanking all Members for their interventions, which have been incredibly powerful and important. I reiterate that this Government are determined to hold Russia to account for its illegal and barbaric actions in Ukraine. With Ukraine and our other partners we share the goal of securing accountability for the crimes that have been committed. We are supporting Ukraine to investigate and prosecute those responsible for atrocities, as well as supporting the investigation by the ICC. We will continue to engage in international fora, including the core group looking at the special tribunal proposals, and to actively work on those.
Tomorrow, the Lord Chancellor will be in Vilnius to attend the conference of the Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe, where we look forward to engaging with our partners on achieving justice for Ukraine. The hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford rightly referred to the significance of action within the Council of Europe in that regard. We are seeking to make progress there, including this week. Together we will ensure that allegations of international crimes are investigated robustly and independently, and we will continue to stand by the brave people of Ukraine for as long as it takes as they defend not only their freedom but our shared security and prosperity.