UWC Vice President holds international discussion on Russia’s war crimes

Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Vice President Marta Farion co-organized an international roundtable titled, “Responses to Russian Crimes in the Current War Against Ukraine” on Nov. 20 at the Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace. 

A focal point of the event was to stress the urgency of holding Russia accountable for its aggression on the international level, and to further examine crimes against Ukraine’s civilian population, as well as discuss steps toward establishing an international tribunal.

“Despite global condemnation and significant support for Ukraine’s efforts to investigate and prosecute perpetrators, international law continues to face significant challenges,” said Maria Klimchak, who is a high-ranking representative of the Ukrainian community in the U.S. and program director at Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America.

Chicagoan Farion played a key role in staging the event, and has North America under her purview with the UWC along with being a Vice President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, and the president of the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation nonprofit group. 

The roundtable was co-organized with the U.S. Institute of Peace and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy that is based in Ukraine. 

“Scholars from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy presented compelling insights, including Myroslava Antonovych, Associate Professor of International and European Law and Head of the Genocide and Human Rights Research Center, and Dmytro Koval, Associate Professor of International and European Law,” Klimchak said.

The discussion featured prominent experts such as David Scheffer, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, and Stephen J. Rapp, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice (2009–2015). 

The event was moderated by Catherine Dale, Senior Advisor and Director at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

“This roundtable underscored the critical role of academic collaboration in advancing international justice and ensuring accountability for Ukraine,” Klimchak added. 

She also quoted Farion, who stated, “[the] Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has always been at the forefront of not only innovation but also the fight for democracy and freedom.”