The International Criminal Court (ICC) is in an unfortunate state of war over spheres of influence, which is blocking Ukraine's efforts to establish a special international tribunal authorized to try the Russian leadership for crimes committed in Ukraine, according to Philip Sands, one of the leading supporters of the creation of the international tribunal.
How the ICC is blocking Ukraine's attempt to get a trial for Russia's crimes
It blamed the impasse on Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the ICC, and some unnamed judges of the court, an international body based in The Hague. According to him, they oppose the special international tribunal not for reasons of principle, but because of the war for their interests.
Ukrainians were disappointed by the delays and called on Great Britain to take the initiative. It is widely accepted that while the ICC can bring charges of war crimes, it has no jurisdiction over Russia because it is not a party to the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty.
Instead, the ICC is trying to indict President Vladimir Putin in connection with the abduction of children from Ukraine. According to Sands, some of the G7 countries — the United States, Great Britain and France — are nervous about the international tribunal because it could set a precedent that would lead to other world leaders being indicted by other future tribunals.
Fears remain that the UN General Assembly or the Security Council may not vote to establish the tribunal, which would reduce its international legitimacy. Russia, for example, can veto any tribunal if the Security Council is asked to create such a body.
However, the head of the legal department of the EU for foreign affairs, Frank Hoffmeister, called for "showing a dose of realism" regarding the alternative option of creating a court by voting at the UN General Assembly. He noted that while 140 states at the General Assembly voted to condemn Russia's actions, support fell below 100 when countries were asked about creating a registry of damage caused by Russia in Ukraine. Another option is for the Council of Europe to make this body on the basis of a multilateral treaty, but this would be confirmation that the global South is excluded from the Western-dominated system of international justice.
I don't know how many votes you will get if you say: "Let's punish Putin." If there is not enough support, the whole enterprise will die down, and this is a guarantee of failure, - said Frank Hoffmeister.
Why should the ICC issue a warrant for Lukashenko's arrest
The deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet and the head of the People's Anti-Crisis Administration in Belarus emphasised that the criminal regime of the Belarusian dictator Oleksandr Lukashenko directly participates in the abduction of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories by Russian war criminals.
Latushko emphasised that the Belarusian opposition is currently carefully studying this case's materials and has already sent preliminary reports to representatives of the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
He emphasised that the criminal regime of the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko is directly involved in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children by Russian war criminals in the occupied territories, after which they are placed in special camps on the territory of Belarus.
They are exported through Rostov-on-Don to the territory of Belarus. There they are placed in camps, where children are ideologically processed in the interests of the "Russian peace". Subsequently, children from the territory of Belarus are taken to Russia either for adoption, or returned to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Lukashenko is not an accomplice here, but an initiator, Latushko noted.
He emphasised that the representatives of the Belarusian opposition should stop these criminal actions of the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko and the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.
Latushko noted that issuing a warrant by the ICC for the arrest of Lukashenko can significantly affect the situation in Belarus.
