The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court announced his intent to investigate whether war crimes or crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.
The inquiry will evaluate alleged crimes by “any party” that took place on Ukrainian territory during the course of Russia’s conflict with its neighbor spanning from 2013 to the present, ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan said Monday. The announcement comes less than a week after Russia launched a deadly full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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“I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine in relation to the events already assessed during the preliminary examination by the Office. Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my Office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine,” Khan said in a statement.
Khan said “there is a reasonable basis” to believe such crimes had been committed in Ukraine and noted that his inquiry would focus on two specific periods of the conflict: Nov. 21, 2013, to Feb. 22, 2014, and Feb. 20, 2014, onward. He cited two requests on behalf of the Ukrainian government to investigate possible war crimes committed during the conflict. Each request focused on one of those time periods.
Ukraine’s requests, which came in 2014 and 2015, respectively, led to a preliminary report by the ICC. The report said the situation warranted further investigation and cited dozens of possible violations Russia committed against Ukraine. The ICC cooperated with Ukraine during its preliminary inquiry but was unable to obtain a response from Russia to its requests. Khan said he is seeking authorization from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber to open the investigation into Ukraine.
The ICC is intended to be a court of last resort and prosecutes crimes globally when countries fail to do so. It is the only permanent global organization that prosecutes international war crimes and crimes against humanity. Russia withdrew its signature from the founding statute of the ICC in 2015. Ukraine is also not a member of the ICC but accepts its jurisdiction over the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to Human Rights Watch.
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On Monday, the U.N. Human Rights Council advanced a proposal to hold a debate Thursday about whether Russia’s invasion violated human rights.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has reportedly resulted in thousands of deaths. Video has shown the Russian military moving thermobaric weapons into Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also ordered Russia’s nuclear deterrence be placed on high alert. Putin’s actions in Ukraine have sparked international outrage and drawn a flurry of sanctions and other punitive measures against Russia from Western nations.
