On the 1st of October 2024 Prof. Hanna Kuczyńska, member of the Project Sunflowers Executive Board took part as a speaker in the Side Event of the 2024 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference entitled: “Universal jurisdiction: the path to justice and solidarity in finding and prosecuting international criminals” organized by Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Public Interest Journalism Lab.

This side-event explored how exercise of universal jurisdiction by participating States in cases related to torture and other crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine can contribute to combating impunity for perpetrators in the wider OSCE region. Universal jurisdiction is an essential tool of international justice. The exercise of universal jurisdiction by domestic courts is especially relevant in situations where such crimes are committed systematically or on a large and systematic scale, and the justice system of the State on whose territory atrocities were committed cannot reasonably be expected to successfully investigate and prosecute all such crimes. Most importantly, universal jurisdiction helps ensure that all survivors of torture and other international crimes can seek the right to truth, justice and reparation.