Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk spoke about her advocacy for human rights in Ukraine in a May 9 talk at Dartmouth Hall. Matviichuk has been a dedicated tracker of human rights violations in Ukraine through her organization Center for Civil Liberties — and since 2014, has identified 86,000 war crimes committed by Russia throughout its invasion.
At the event, Matviichuk argued for the international community to bring justice to the victims of the war crimes.
“When they said war had started, even I, with all my knowledge, with all my understanding of the international standard, with my previous years of documentation of war crimes in war, I wasn’t prepared for the enormous amount of human pain,” Matviichuk said.
Approximately 40 people attended the Eastern European Club event, which was moderated by Ukrainian charity Futurevia founder and Eastern European Club president Oleksandr Zavalov ’26 and government professor William Wohlforth.
The Center for Civil Liberties aims to protect human rights and democracy in Ukraine and other regions in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In February 2022, Matviichuk helped start the “Tribunal for Putin” initiative, which documents international war crimes committed by Russia. This initiative tries to utilize existing procedures of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the International Criminal Court, and the OSCE to bring justice to the victims of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
During the event, Matviichuk said she was inspired to take up law after graduating with a lot of Soviet dissidents back in school. She was inspired by their bravery and their activism.
“I appeared in a group of fantastic people who say what they think and do what they say, people who had the bravery to stand up against the Soviet Union,” Matviichuk said.
One audience member, Oleksii Zavalov ’29, said Matviichuk’s “heartfelt lecture” inspired him to work more closely with Futurevia.
“Matviichuk’s remembrance of abhorrent, personal tragedies resulting from Russia’s war crimes moved me as I work with Futurevia Foundation focused on the individual wellbeing of Ukrainian people, be it the children, beacons of our future generation, or brave veterans,” he said.
To protect and bring justice to Ukrainian citizens, Matviichuk said she found it important to address Russia’s intention of going to war with Ukraine. She emphasizes how Russia saw Ukraine as not a “goal,” but a “tool” to disrupt the status quo.
Matviichuk added that Russia is addressing questions such as “how to break the ways of international order, dictate its goals to the entire international community and change internationally organized powerholders” through the war.
However, as a lawyer, Matviichuk said she realizes she “has no legal tool” to stop Russia from committing war crimes against Ukraine as the war goes on.
Matviichuk said she believes the system and principles of the United Nations favor the interests of the elite in different countries and fail to protect the “80% of lives in oppressed societies.” For example, the work of the Security Council is “completely paralyzed” due to Russia’s veto power in the council.
“For us, it’s not abstract,” Matviichuk said. “It’s not just about characters. It’s about people who live here. Some are families, some are relatives, some are neighbors. It’s our people.”
Participant Brigid O’Donnell ’28 said the event was “really touching” and “very emotional.”
“I have so much respect for her for navigating these personal stories of personal traumas, and at the same time, sort of pushing for justice and peace,” O’Donnell said. “I think that was the main takeaway of the event [is] that we can’t have true peace without justice.”
