Kateryna Busol opens transitional justice lecture series at Viadrina European University
As Kateryna Busol emphasised, the early implementation of justice mechanisms is an essential step towards building an accountability framework that is victim-centred, gender-competent, and capable of driving transformative change.
For our Faculty, international academic cooperation is also an opportunity to contribute Ukrainian perspectives and experience to the development of contemporary legal scholarship. We strive to ensure that the research and expertise of Ukrainian scholars inform international discussions on the rule of law, accountability, and human rights protection.
European University Viadrina is one of NaUKMA’s academic partners. Cooperation between the two universities continues to develop through educational initiatives, academic visits, and the exchange of scholarly expertise. Kateryna Busol’s lecture is another example of this ongoing partnership.
Photo credit: Mariya Zoryk
This was the central theme of the lecture “New Horizons of Transitional Justice in Ukraine and Beyond,” delivered by Kateryna Busol, Associate Professor at the Department of International and European Law of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. On 26 October, her lecture inaugurated a series of guest lectures at Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany).
During the lecture, Kateryna Busol explored how approaches to accountability for international crimes and mass human rights violations are evolving. The experiences of Colombia, Syria, and Ukraine reveal an important trend: documentation of violations, initial investigations, and reparations initiatives are increasingly being undertaken during the active phases of armed conflicts.
Particular attention was given to Ukraine’s experience in providing individual interim reparations to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The importance of these measures has been recognised by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Such mechanisms make it possible to support survivors without waiting for the end of Russia’s aggression.