Programme for the evening:
- 7.00 pm: Opening of the evening by Antoine Arjakovsky, Research Director at the Collège des Bernardins, and Antoine Fleyfel, Director of the Institut chrétiens d’Orient.
- 7.10 pm: Presentation of the Normandy World Peace Forum, organised by the Normandy Region.
- 7.30 pm: Video address by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
- 7.35 pm: Panel discussion:
- Nathalie Loiseau, Member of the European Parliament
- Laure Mandeville, Senior Correspondent, Le Figaro
- Pierre Raiman, co-founder of “For Ukraine, for their freedom and for ours” - 8.45 pm: Video address by Oleksandra Matviichouk, lawyer, director of the NGO “Centre for Civil Liberties”, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (subject to confirmation)
- 8.50 pm: Closing remarks by Constantin Sigov, Ukrainian philosopher
- 9.00 pm: Concert for justice and peace in Ukraine by the Blue and Gold Quartet, comprising Ukrainian musicians: Yanzhyma Morozova, Tonia Krysa, Andrii Malakhov, Nataliia Ivanovska and Anna Stavychenko
- 9.30 pm: Cocktail reception
The joint research seminar organised by the Collège des Bernardins, the Institut chrétiens d’Orient and the association ‘For Ukraine, for their freedom and for ours’ in 2026 focused on exploring the conditions for implementing a process of transitional justice and restorative justice in Ukraine.
Indeed, transitional justice is designed to address and heal the wounds of an entire society, rather than merely judging those responsible for the aggression.
Transitional justice refers to a set of judicial and non-judicial measures designed to address the heavy legacy of human rights abuses in societies emerging from armed conflict or authoritarian rule. The principle is that by promoting justice, recognising victims and commemorating past violations, society’s chances of returning to peaceful and democratic functioning are increased.
The rights granted to victims under transitional justice are: the right to the truth, the right to justice, the right to reparation and punishment, remembrance, and guarantees of non-repetition.
Throughout the year, the assembled experts have documented a number of crimes committed in Ukraine by the Russian state and have shed light on the phenomena of amnesia or avoidance regarding these crimes (and those committed by the Soviet regime). They have also sought to understand the reasons for the delays in establishing courts to try these crimes under criminal law.
On Monday 15 June, they will present their proposals to promote a better understanding of the importance of transitional justice, to speed up its implementation, and to raise public awareness of a number of crimes that certain media outlets do not always know how to report on. They will discuss these issues with experts in the field. This will be followed by a concert of Ukrainian music dedicated to the people of Mariupol and performed by the Or et Bleu Quartet, made up of Ukrainian musicians who have sought refuge in France.
