Ukraine on the path to effective compensation mechanisms for destroyed housing: international experience and domestic challenges

On June 5, a public discussion was held in Kyiv on the topic: “Compensation for housing in wartime: balancing national obligations and international standards,” which discussed mechanisms for compensation for housing destroyed or damaged as a result of armed aggression. The event was organized by the National Platform for Sustainability and Solidarity and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

Andriy Klymosyuk, project manager at the Institute for Legislative Ideas and co-author of the study "Compensation for Housing Destroyed or Damaged as a Result of the Russian-Ukrainian War (National and International Dimensions)" presented international experience in compensating victims, in particular using the examples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He emphasized the importance of adapting international practices to Ukrainian realities and developing a compensation mechanism for persons whose homes were destroyed or damaged as a result of the war.

The event also highlighted the problems of verifying damages, in particular the difficulties in confirming property rights, especially in temporarily occupied territories, discussed other shortcomings of the national compensation mechanism and possible ways to improve it through the digitization of the process, as well as the prospects for obtaining compensation through the International Compensation Mechanism and submitting relevant applications to RD4U.