Olena Zelenska pleads with the UN for a special tribunal so that “aggression” like the Russian invasion of her country “cannot be repeated”
“I call on the United Nations to set up a special tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression. We’re not the only ones who need it, it’s for everyone so it can’t happen again. »
“I think you will all agree: regardless of your country and nationality, you have the right not to be killed in your own homes,” Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska said in a video message delivered during a special event in the United Nations Headquarters was broadcast on human rights violations in Ukraine. “However, for a year now, Ukrainians have been being killed in front of the whole world in their cities, villages, homes, hospitals, theaters,” she added, defending Ukraine’s right to “self-defense.”
Ukrainians have been pushing for months to create such a tribunal to try those responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. They had considered presenting a resolution on the anniversary of the start of the invasion, but the initiative was rejected, according to diplomats. The resolution, which will be discussed by the General Assembly on Wednesday, calls above all for a “just peace”, hoping for the greatest possible support.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, has no authority to try aggression crimes against Russia, which has not signed the Rome Statute, founding text of the ICC.
“Russia has committed all sorts of crimes against the Ukrainian people,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned and castigated in particular the “deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.” “Responsibility for international crimes committed in Ukraine must be comprehensive, there must be no loopholes. Russia’s political and military leaders must also be brought to justice,” he stressed.
In this regard, the European Union recently announced the creation of an international center dedicated to prosecuting crimes of aggression in Ukraine, supported by Ukraine and based in The Hague. This center “will collect evidence that can one day be used to judge Russian leadership,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said at UN headquarters on Wednesday. “Yes, we want peace, but the only way to get peace is not to tolerate this aggression,” he added.