The International Criminal Court has begun investigating war crimes in Ukraine, but the Ukrainian leadership says the ICC has a problem because it cannot prosecute the Kremlin leadership.
A draft resolution moves the United Nations in New York to set up a tribunal to hold the Russian leadership accountable for crimes of aggression in Ukraine, writes The Guardian.
Beth Van Schaak, US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, said this week: “This is something that President Zelensky is very concerned about. This is what Ukraine wants and I think it will carry a lot of weight. The question yes, do they have votes in the General Assembly?”.
“Until now, all resolutions on Ukraine have been adopted. The number of votes is quite large,” he added.
The International Criminal Court has begun investigating war crimes in Ukraine, but the Ukrainian leadership says the ICC is struggling because, while it can try those charged with individual war crimes, it cannot prosecute Kremlin leadership for the wider crime of aggression because Russia did not sign the corresponding charter.
Wang Schaak said the US has no firm stance on the special tribunal. However, in his opinion, it makes sense to hold trials in absentia of Russians accused of war crimes if they cannot be extradited.
He said the US could release intelligence to help identify those most responsible for preparing and waging war, which he said was a clear violation of the UN charter.
His remarks suggest that key figures in the Biden administration are now more open to setting up a special tribunal on the Russian leadership’s role in guiding the invasion of Ukraine. “We are looking at all angles, and we certainly support the idea of taking some intermediate steps, especially when it comes to preserving evidence,” he said.
Van Schaak said two options were being considered. The first is a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the UN, “blessed in some respects by the General Assembly, providing political support for the entire international community and creating a separate tribunal.”
The second option, he said, is an internal court created by Ukraine, with the addition of an international element from the EU or the Council of Europe, possibly approved by a vote in the UN General Assembly.
In both cases, we will discuss the consideration of the crime of aggression. “It will be a limited circle of defendants, perhaps the highest political leadership and perhaps some top military officers,” he said.
It will be remembered that Volodymyr Zelensky is sure that the Russian leadership cannot avoid responsibility for the crime against Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
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