On November 29, following the meeting of Ministers of Justice of the G7 countries with the participation of Ukraine, which was centered around investigations into the crimes committed in Ukraine, the Berlin Declaration was adopted.
The meeting participants thereby agreed to closely coordinate cooperation on investigating war crimes in Ukraine and bringing the perpetrators to justice. In particular, it was agreed to coordinate the activities of investigative and prosecutorial bodies to avoid duplication. It was also decided to create a central national contact point for prosecuting international criminals in each state.
As reported by the Ukrainian Military Naval Forces, russians are attacking Ukrainian personnel with banned K-51 chloropicrin aerosol grenades, which they transport to Ukrainian locations by drones. The reported attacks are being carried out in the east of Ukraine.
According to NASA Harvest, which uses satellite imagery to model wheat crops, Ukraine has lost at least $1 billion of wheat that was harvested in areas temporarily controlled by russia, as almost 6 million tons of wheat was collected from those territories.
NASA Harvest’s research also raises the question of what is happening to the stolen crops: it is known that russian ships have been exporting grain likely taken from occupied areas to countries including Libya and Iran, but it is difficult to estimate the volumes involved as shippers are obscuring the origin of the cargoes.
On December 5, on the anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances for Ukraine, russians undertook yet another massive shelling of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, firing more than 70 missiles on numerous regions of Ukraine. Thanks to the Ukrainian Air Force, most of the projectiles were successfully downed; however, some of the missiles hit their targets, killing four people and causing blackouts not only in Ukraine but in neighboring Moldova. Moreover, after the attack, missile fragments were discovered in Moldova near the border with Ukraine.
First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, who was visiting the UK to highlight the plight of the Ukrainian people, delivered a speech in the House of Commons on November 29, thanking the UK for its support in the war against russia. She called for uniting the world in support of a special tribunal for russian crimes against Ukraine and brought special attention to the sexual violence in conflict, demanding a "global response" to the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. "Today, I am asking you to become a world leader of justice. Nothing more, nothing less," she concluded, receiving a standing ovation.
On November 30, the Parliament of Germany recognized the man-made Holodomor of 1932-1933, which led to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians, as the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
According to a press release by the German parliament, the Bundestag recognized that the Soviet leadership oppressed the Ukrainian way of life, language and culture in its efforts to control local farmers, which, from today's perspective, suggests the historical-political classification of genocide. Four parliamentary factions voted in favor of the relevant resolution.
On December 1, Senators Roger Wicker and Ben Cardin introduced the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the US Secretary of State to designate the russian-based private military company Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
The proposal also includes provisions that would apply the FTO designation to any affiliated or successor entity to the PMC Wagner Group. According to the statement, a companion measure led by U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen, Joe Wilson, Richard Hudson, and Marc Veasey will also be introduced in the US House of Representatives.
On December 4, during an interview with CNN, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken denounced russia’s barbarian attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and stated that his Department is “working with Congress right now on legislation that would help [the US] get around some of the challenges of using the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation.”
In his comment on the national TV marathon, Oleksandr Korniyenko noted that the USAID RADA: Next Generation Activity had been working without interruption to ensure accountability of the Parliament and conduct parliamentary oversight even amid the full-scale war. He took note of the “model district” initiative, where RANG enhances MPs' communications with citizens in geographic constituencies and electoral regions. It provides effective model examples for other MPs and constituencies.
Mr. Korniyenko also emphasized the efforts of working groups to reform the Rules of Procedures of the VRU. These results will be presented next spring within the format of Jean Monnet dialogues.
Mr. Kubrakov was the infrastructure minister, and the ministry was merged with the Ministry of regional development. Therefore, he has become Deputy PM and the minister of infrastructure and regional development.
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Vyacheslav Shtuchnyi noted that enhancing the institutional capacity of the VRU is a priority. “Thus, we need to ensure the high standards in the work of the VRU Secretariat and the VRU Research Service”, he stressed.
On November 28, USAID RADA: Next Generation conducted a coordination meeting with its three model committees to discuss the results of the first phase of the “Model Committee” activity implementation. The participants noted the successful implementation of the joint work plans, as 90% of activities were implemented and a cooperation plan for the next year was drafted.
Participants discussed the concept of the draft law on social dialogue, enhancement of the Committees` capacity to approximate EU legislation, and finishing the Post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) pilots. They highlighted the need to conduct the offline meeting to disseminate info-materials about the results of cooperation for the VRU Leadership and other committees.
On November 29-30, RADA: Next Generation Program conducted a training on “Policymaking process and end-to-end legislative oversight” for the Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, one of its three model Committees and profile ministries.
The training helped VRU Committee explore the policymaking process and its benefits, provide an overview of the features of the process, its stages, and the role of the Parliament, government, and civil society at each stage as well as the main principles of the end-to-end legislative oversight. The training brings practical skills for applying the policy cycle approach utilizing the comparative approach of policy cycle practices in the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
The topic of the lesson will be "Separation of powers in Ukraine. The ways state authorities interact with the parliament”.