The Diplomat
The acting Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, participated yesterday in Latvia in the informal meeting of Justice Ministers of the Council of Europe, in the course of which she offered and requested to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, the collaboration of Spain in the investigation of the death of the Spanish aid worker Emma Igual, who died on Saturday during a Russian attack on her convoy in Ukraine. On the other hand, the Council of Ministers will grant today the Gran Cruz de Isabel la Católica to the aid worker.
The informal meeting, which took place in Riga under the title On the Road to Justice for Ukraine: Advancing Accountability, Reuniting Children with their Families and Supporting the Resilience of its Justice System. Forging the path started in Reykjavik, it was also attended by the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, and, representing Ukraine, the Minister of Justice, Denys Maliuska, and the Prosecutor General.
In her speech, Pilar Llop, expressed the “firm commitment of the Government of Spain to ensure accountability for international crimes committed in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine,” the Ministry said in a press release. Llop also reaffirmed “Spain’s deep and sincere solidarity with the Ukrainian authorities, and especially with the Ukrainian citizens who are suffering the consequences of this illegal war”, and was “dismayed by the death of the Spanish aid worker in Ukraine” and sent, therefore, a message of support to her family and relatives.
During the day, Llop held a bilateral meeting with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, in which they discussed legal cooperation between the two countries to ensure accountability for war crimes committed by Russia since the beginning of the war. The Minister also took advantage of the meeting to offer and request the necessary cooperation for the investigation of the death of the Spanish aid worker, which took place “while she was helping people in vulnerable situations”, the Ministry added.
On the other hand, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, informed yesterday that the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv “is already underway” so that the repatriation “of the lifeless body of Emma Iguales takes place as soon as possible” and announced, in declarations in La Mirada Crítica of Telecinco, that this Tuesday he will take to the “Council of Ministers the concession of the Grand Cross of Isabel la Católica for this aid worker”.
Emma Igual, 32, director and co-founder of the NGO Road to Relief – working in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, evacuating civilians and providing humanitarian and medical aid to the civilian population most affected by the war in the provinces of Kherson and Donetsk – died on Saturday during a Russian artillery attack on her convoy as it passed through the province of Donetsk, in which a Canadian volunteer was also killed and a Swedish and a German were wounded. The death was confirmed by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and by the NGO itself.
The Riga meeting
The meeting of Justice Ministers was held in the framework of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Europe and is a follow-up to the summit held in May in Reykjavik, where they agreed to initiate a Register of Damage Caused by the Russian Federation’s Aggression against Ukraine. At this meeting, they discussed the promotion of such a Register and the adoption of measures to promote the repatriation to Ukraine of children deported to Russia, as well as support for the Ukrainian judicial system and the investigations carried out by its General Prosecutor’s Office.
At the end of the session, the attendees signed a joint statement condemning the aggression and demanding full accountability of Russia for its actions. They also showed their support for the Ukrainian judicial system and called on the actors involved, including international organizations, to collaborate in the search for the Ukrainian children and their return.
