Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has released his report following a high-level, closed-door meeting in Warsaw on 13 –14 November 2025. The report asserts that human rights must underpin all peace-making efforts for Ukraine, shifting the focus from transactional negotiations to a people-centred approach.

The urgency of this shift is underscored by the escalating Russian attacks on Kyiv and across Ukraine. The brutal reality is that civilian casualties are significantly higher than in 2024 and the destruction of Ukraine’s energy capacity is so extensive that its people are facing the harshest winter since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

“Any settlement that focuses predominantly on land, resources, or military strategy — a purely 'transactional peace' — makes the human element secondary. Such disregard for the experiences of millions of victims would result in an unjust and unsustainable peace", the Commissioner states. "The path to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be based on the fundamental principles of human rights, justice and accountability".

The meeting brought together 35 high-level officials and experts from the fields of diplomacy, human rights, and peace-making. The resulting report identifies five key directions to guide international policies.

1.    Contextualising the agenda: Acknowledging the ineffectiveness of current international mechanisms in stopping Russia’s aggression, learning from past peace-making experience and building alliances through creative diplomacy.

2.    Securing a people-centred peace by prioritising the needs of the most affected groups, including the 6,37 million people living in Ukraine’s territories temporarily occupied by Russia; prisoners of war; civilian detainees; the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children transferred to Russia; the 6,9 million refugees; the 3,67 million people internally displaced and the victims of international crimes, including war-related  sexual violence. The peace process should draw on contributions from all national and international actors, including victim and other civil society organisations, and ensure a full and equal participation of women.

3.    Pursuing accountability through multiple avenues: supporting the current establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and of the International Claims Commission for Ukraine; the International Criminal Court; the use of universal jurisdiction; and Ukraine’s prosecution authorities and judiciary.

4.    Ensuring fair reparations: ensuring that all victims of Russia’s war of aggression since 2014 can obtain adequate compensation.

5.    Strengthening coordination and alignment between various actors engaged in efforts for a human rights-based peace and accountability, such as the Ukrainian national authorities, international organisations and civil society.

The report raises concerns about the 1,6 million children living in occupied territories who are subject to a militarised education system designed to forcibly alter their national identity. It also draws attention to the lack of access for international humanitarian and human rights organisations to Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, the overwhelming majority of whom are believed to have been tortured. 

In addition, the report calls for reinforcing the concept of holistic security across Europe in a time of remilitarisation and major investment in hard security. “Defence is critical but should be part of a wider democratic security approach that integrates human rights”, notes the Commissioner.

>Read the full report