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France promises "new budgetary aid" to Chad

8 July 2021

French president Emmanuel Macron "reiterated his support for the transition" in Chad and promised "soon, new budgetary aid", said the Elysee Palace on Monday evening (5 July), after a meeting with the head of the military junta and self-proclaimed Chadian president, Lt Gen Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, in Paris.

Déby had been invited by Emmanuel Macron as part of the preparation for the next G5 Sahel summit, and more generally, to discuss internal and external security issues during his "first official working visit in France", the leaders announced in a joint statement.

Macron "reiterated his support for the transition and announced the implementation, at an early date, of new budgetary aid". The two leaders "called for a rapid treatment of the Chadian debt, within the common framework of the debt". "They examined the progress of the political transition in Chad" and "stressed the need to do everything possible to achieve the objectives of an inclusive, peaceful and successful transition".

Mahamat Idriss Déby has been leading a Transitional Military Council (TMC) of 15 generals since the death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, who ruled the country for 30 years before perishing at the front in a fight against rebels on 19 April 2021.

The following day, the TMC dissolved the Parliament and the government and repealed the Constitution. It promised "free and fair" elections after an 18 month transition period, renewable once.

The international community, led by the African Union (AU) and France, demanded that this period does not exceed 18 months. However, at the end of June, Mahamat Déby hinted that he was not ruling out an extension.

Nonetheless, Macron's words following the Chadian president's visit confirm France's continued support for its formal colony. France is the third country visited by Déby since he took power in April, after Niger and Nigeria, and Macron was the only Western head of state to attend Idriss Déby's funeral on 23 April 2021. On that occasion, the French president vowed that France would continue to stand with Chad. "France will never let anyone, either today or tomorrow, challenge Chad's stability and integrity," he said at the ceremony.

source: commonspace.eu with Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé), Le Monde (Paris) and agencies.

photo: Mahamat Idriss Déby welcoming Emmanuel Macron on his arrival at the funeral of his father Idriss Deby Itno on 23 April; Desirey Minkoh/Afrikimages Agency

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Council of Europe launches new International Claims Commission for Ukraine

17 December 2025

Thirty-four countries and the European Union have signed a new convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine at a diplomatic conference co-hosted by the 46-nation Council of Europe and the Netherlands in the Hague. The diplomatic conference was attended by leaders and high-level representatives from over 50 states, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof. “Today marks a major step forward in ensuring accountability for Ukraine. The International Claims Commission represents justice and hope for tens of thousands of victims—our determination that those who have suffered will not be forgotten. I call for quick ratifications so we can get the commission rapidly up and running for the people of Ukraine,” said Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “We expect that every mechanism for compensation from the Register of Damage and Claims Commission to the actual payments – will start working and receive strong and sufficient international support, so that people can truly feel that any kind of damage caused by the war can be compensated. This war, and Russia’s responsibility for it, MUST become a clear example – so that others learn not to choose aggression.” “Accountability is about creating the conditions for peace that endures. And therefore, accountability is a condition of security – today and for the future. But accountability is not only about Ukraine. And it is not only about one aggressor and one victim. Accountability is about Europe. About every country in Europe. It is about whether Europe, as a whole, is willing to defend its peace,” said Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, said: “Every day Russia is deliberately bombarding homes, destroying businesses and damaging infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia must compensate Ukraine for the damage caused. That is why we have launched the International Claims Commission for Ukraine and we are honoured to host it.” The International Claims Commission will be the second part of a comprehensive compensation mechanism related to Russia’s war of aggression, building on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine. The claims commission will be established within the framework of the Council of Europe and will also be open to other countries. The Register of Damage for Ukraine, created in 2023, collects and records compensation claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine. Forty-four states and the European Union have so far joined the Register, which has already received 86,000 claims. The International Claims Commission will review, assess and decide upon claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine and determine the amount of compensation, if any, which is due in each case. The convention establishing the commission will enter into force once it has been ratified by 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funds have been secured to support its initial work.

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