03/20/2023 11:15 am (act. 03/20/2023 11:15 am)
London plans to host an international meeting on Monday to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Justice ministers from around the world are coming together to organize financial and practical support for the work of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the UK Department of Justice said. The conference is hosted by Great Britain and the Netherlands.
“We gather today in London, united by the aim of holding war criminals accountable for the atrocities committed during this unjust, unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. “Britain will continue to support the International Criminal Court with resources, staff and expertise alongside the international community to ensure that justice is done.”
Great Britain has already announced additional support in the order of 452 thousand euros. This is intended to provide psychological support to witnesses and victims of crime, but also to fund other British specialists at the ICC. This increases London’s support in this area to over €1.1 million.
Austria’s Justice Minister, Alma Zadic (Greens), will not attend Monday’s meeting due to scheduling reasons, as per the request of the Ministry of Justice’s APA. Austria continues to support and strengthen the ICC, she said. Reference was made to previous financial support from Austria and the appointment of an Austrian judge to the Criminal Court.
The London conference is jointly organized by Great Britain and the Netherlands. Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius said the international community must take responsibility for ensuring that perpetrators of crimes during Ukraine’s war are brought to justice. Ukrainians “deserve our support to get justice”.
The Hague-based ICC has opened an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as part of Russia’s year-long war of aggression against Ukraine. In most cases, Russian forces are suspect.
On Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia in Ukraine’s war against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian President’s Child Rights Commissioner Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belowa.
Only a few months after the start of the Russian war of aggression, London began to support the court with technical expertise. Along with other Western partners, the British are also training Ukrainian judges and prosecutors.