Ukraine is accepting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, opening the way for the prosecution of any war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia launched a war against the nation in February 2014.
This means
the ICC’s jurisdiction is valid identifying, prosecuting and judging suspects
and their accomplices, according to the official declaration submitted by
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin to the court on Sept. 8.
This is the
second such declaration lodged by Ukraine since April 17, 2014, when Kyiv
recognized the court’s jurisdiction over crimes committed in Ukraine from Nov.
21, 2013 to Feb. 22, 2014.
Apart from
the mass murder of more than 100 EuroMaidan Revolution protesters on Feb. 20,
2014, the declaration also covers “crimes against humanity and war crimes
committed by senior officials of the Russian Federation” and the Kremlin-backed
separatists, as well as the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,
which killed all 298 people on board.
Klimkin
described Kyiv’s recognition of the court’s jurisdiction indefinitely as a
“historic moment,” adding that granting such jurisdiction was Ukraine’s “moral
responsibility.”
“The crimes
against Maidan protesters, the aggressor’s crimes, and crimes committed by
terrorists with (Russian) support will not remain with impunity,” Klimkin wrote
on Twitter on Sept. 8.
The
jurisdiction of the court covers all persons suspected of committing crimes
against humanity or war crimes in Ukraine, irrespective of their nationality, according
to the Sept. 8 statement.
However,
investigations into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity are not
expected start immediately.
First, the
ICC’s general prosecutor will have to analyze cases and decide whether to start
an investigation. If it does so, the court will then decide whether to issue
arrest warrants and subpoenas for persons suspected of the crimes.
Meanwhile,
Ukraine will cooperate with the court in collecting evidence, investigation and
prosecution.
Ukraine has
already started preparatory work, Klimkin said in an interview with Ukrainian
news agency Ukrinform on Sept. 9. He said Ukraine’s prosecutor general is
closely cooperating with the court.
The
New-York based Coalition for the International Criminal Court, which includes
2,500 civic organizations in 150 countries working in partnership to strengthen
international cooperation with the court, welcomed Ukraine’s move.
“Ukraine’s
decision to expand its acceptance of ICC jurisdiction is a clear signal of its
commitment to accountability for grave crimes and an important step towards
ending impunity,” said Kirsten Meersschaert, the coalition’s regional
coordinator for Europe.
However,
she also said that the move had to be followed by concrete steps towards the
ratification of the Rome Statute for Ukraine to become a fully-fledged ICC
member state.
Similarly,
Roman Romanov, director of the International Renaissance Foundation, said that
he expects the next step to be Ukraine’s “full cooperation with the ICC,” the Coalition
for the International Criminal Court’s Sept. 8 statement reads.
“Peace
comes not when the guns are silent, but when justice is done,” Romanov said.
Andriy
Andrushkiv of the post-EuroMaidan civic watchdog Reanimation Package of Reforms
said ratification of the Rome Statute must be one of parliament’s priorities
for this session. Lawmakers promised to do so after the revolution that forced
ex-President Viktor Yanukovych to flee.
The Kyiv Post’s
legal affairs reporter Mariana Antonovych can be reached at
[email protected]
