DrThe International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court said on Friday that Putin is responsible for the illegal deportation and resettlement of children from occupied Ukraine to the Russian Federation. An arrest warrant was issued for the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Putin’s presidential administration, Maria Lukova-Belua.
Based on the plaintiffs’ motions on February 22, the court concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Putin and Lvova Belova were responsible for the aforementioned war crimes. Arrest warrants will be posted differently than usual because crimes are believed to be continuing and public disclosure can help prevent further crimes.
Russia immediately repeated that the criminal court in The Hague is meaningless. „The decisions of the International Criminal Court are meaningless for our country, not even from a legal point of view,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on her Telegram channel. Moscow „will not cooperate with the court.” Russia is „not a party to the International Criminal Court” and has no „obligations” to it.
Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan launched an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity a year ago. Khan was personally in Ukraine three times, including in the Kiev region, where a pogrom is said to have taken place in Bucha.
Putin is not persona non grata to the UN Secretary General
The United Nations avoided direct response to the arrest warrant. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, only confirmed that Putin was not persona non grata to the UN secretary-general over the decision: „The secretary-general will always speak to anyone who needs to be spoken to.”
Dujarric went on to say that the International Criminal Court and the United Nations are separate organizations. The ICC dates back to the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which came about through negotiations led by the United Nations. According to the United Nations, there is a cooperation agreement between the Court and the United Nations.
Dujarric did not answer a question about whether he saw diplomatic progress in jeopardy because of Putin’s travel restrictions. It therefore seems questionable whether the Russian president could travel to Geneva, for example, for possible peace talks led by the United Nations – Switzerland is a member of the International Criminal Court. In total, more than 120 countries have ratified the Rome Statute.
Independent Russian media commented that the arrest warrant may limit Putin’s ability to travel. Many countries, including Russia’s allies, recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and have ratified the relevant law.
However, Ukraine has not ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Despite this, the country recognizes the jurisdiction of judges over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on Ukrainian soil since 2014. President Volodymyr Zelensky called Friday’s arrest warrants a „historic decision”.
Bushman sees „significant design cue”
US President Joe Biden described the issuance of the arrest warrant against Putin as „justified”. Biden told reporters in Washington on Friday (local time) that the move sends „a very strong signal.”
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buchmann also welcomed the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. „Anyone who, like Putin, instigated a bloody war must be held accountable for it in court,” the FDP politician told the German Liberation Network (RND). The best solution is if an indictment can be brought before the International Criminal Court. The warrant now issued for war crimes is an important sign of determination.”
In addition, it is important to continue to think about other models, „how can we implement consistent criminal prosecution, for example with a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggressive war,” added Bushman. There is a close exchange on these questions with international partners and institutions that are already investigating, for example next Monday in London at an international conference of justice ministers in support of the investigations of the International Criminal Court.
The arrest warrants for Putin and Levova Belova are the first step towards a trial. However, past trials show that holding senior officials to account is difficult. In more than 20 years, there have only been five convictions for so-called underlying offences. None of the convicts are senior representatives of the power structure.
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