July 17 was the tragic anniversary of the global air tragedy, i.e., the downing of flight MH17 in 2014.
The victims: 298 names. Women, men, their children, their parents. 298 human lives, ended forever seven years ago in the sky over Ukraine.
When the Dutch prosecutor read the 298 names at the opening of the trial in the case of the Malaysian Boeing shot down over the Donbas last year, her words sounded difficult but were full of respect for the victims and their dignity.
In the investigation of any crime, the prosecutor shall focus on the injured party, and the MH17 case makes no exception. Respect for the grief of the next of kin during these seven years has been a priority for all members of the international joint investigation team: Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia.
Ukraine has agreed with its partners that the trial will take place in the national court of the Netherlands, the country with the largest number of citizens on board.
An international investigation team has identified the BUK missile system from which the plane was shot down, its route from the Russian Federation to Ukraine and back. Prosecutors and investigators have identified 4 suspects in the downing of Boeing, and in 2019, Ukraine transferred criminal proceedings against them to its colleagues in the Netherlands. In March 2020, the trial began, which attracted the attention of the whole world.
The preliminary stage of the trial, during which the court provided the lawyers of one of the accused with proper access to get familiarized with the materials of the case, considered the requests from the parties for additional investigation, and finally inspected the reconstruction of the aircraft wreckage, was completed in May this year.
On June 7, the key phase began, i.e. consideration of the case on its merits. At this stage, the court should consider the main version put forward by the prosecution and answer three questions: whether the plane was shot down by the BUK missile system; whether the missile was launched from a field near the village of Pervomaiskyi; what the role of the accused in the downing of the plane is.
We are closely monitoring the process and, at the request of the Dutch side, are providing all necessary assistance for the trial.
However, the investigation into the downing of MH17 in the criminal proceedings did not end there. Together with partners from the international joint investigation team, we are continuing an investigation aimed at identifying other persons involved in this crime, including those who launched the missile and gave the relevant orders.
I assure you that my colleagues and I are doing everything in our power to ensure that the next of kin feel justice and that the world discovers the truth.
Every crime committed in the context of an armed conflict and connected with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation on our land requires that the truth is discovered. During 2014-2020, almost 30,000 such criminal offenses were registered in Ukraine.
Almost half of them – over terrorist attacks, one in five – over participation in armed formations not envisaged by law, one in eight – over participation in terrorist organizations, one in fifteen – over encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, one in twenty – over high treason, one in fifty – over violation of the laws and customs of war. At the same time, premeditated murders, wrongful imprisonment and kidnappings, torture are also committed in conditions of the armed conflict.
Over the past six years, more than 6,500 criminal cases have been investigated and sent to court. Already this year, indictments for more than 500 criminal offenses have been sent to court.
However, about a quarter of criminal proceedings for crimes in this category are currently in the courts. Pre-trial investigation requires increasing the efficiency, quality, improving the level of knowledge of all participants in the process. That is why we took the initiative and recently signed a joint resolution with the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine on the specialization of investigators and their in-depth training to work with such crimes.
As well as in the Prosecutor General’s Office and Donetsk and Luhansk regional prosecutor’s offices, specialized units for the investigation of crimes committed during the armed conflict will be established within the central offices of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine and in their regional and territorial bodies in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
At the same time, we must objectively assess the capacity of our law enforcement agencies, which will undoubtedly work persistently and will continue to investigate war crimes more thoroughly with specialized units. In conditions of the absence of access to places of crime commission in the Russian-occupied territories, the inability to detain suspects, the refusal of Interpol to declare them wanted – domestic efforts only are not enough to prosecute senior officials of the Russian Federation.
Therefore, in order to restore justice, we count on the support of international institutions and must build effective cooperation with them to support the victims of the armed conflict and punish those who brought it to Ukraine.
We work closely with the International Criminal Court, regularly passing on to it evidence of violations of international humanitarian law in Crimea and Donbas gathered in cooperation with the public and human rights activists. This work yielded results – in December last year, the ICC Prosecutor announced the completion of a preliminary examination of the Ukraine situation. The Court came to the conclusion that there are grounds to believe that in the territory of our state there are facts of war crimes and crimes against humanity within its jurisdiction. The next step in this process should be the appeal of the ICC Prosecutor to the judges of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber for permission to investigate.
The practice of the International Criminal Court shows that after the authorization to open an investigation into the Ukraine situation, a representative office of the ICC Prosecutor will be established, which should cooperate with specialized units of prosecutors and investigators, which are finally being established.
War crimes, aggression, crimes against humanity – have no statute of limitations. We will continue to do our job to overcome impunity for international crimes, and the International Criminal Court will help us to prosecute high-ranking Russian officials and leaders of illegally created armed groups in the East of the country.
The ratification process of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is one of the conditions of the Association Agreement with the European Union, will allow us to move to the appropriate level of cooperation with the ICC Prosecutor’s Office.
To begin with, let us recall what the Rome Statute is – it is an international treaty establishing the International Criminal Court. It establishes the functions, jurisdiction and structure of the court. Ukraine signed it in 2000. Its provisions have been ratified by 122 countries to which our state has not yet joined. However, in two statements, Ukraine has recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes against humanity committed in Maidan and crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by high officials of the Russian Federation and leaders of the terrorist organizations «Luhansk People’s Republic» and «Donetsk People’s Republic» in Donbas and Crimea.
Despite the fact that Ukraine has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in its territory, our state has not yet acquired the status of a full member of the Court. A state party has the right to its own representatives and judges and the opportunity to independently refer situations for investigation without the need to obtain permission from the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber.
Ratification creates additional opportunities, makes Ukraine an active participant in the process, demonstrates a commitment to principles and trust in international law. The Prosecutor General’s Office is ready not only to share information but also to build strategies for investigating international crimes. To this end, we will develop the capacity of the Ukrainian justice system to provide a legal assessment of crimes committed in the context of international armed conflict in the territory of Ukraine.
Talks about the ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC always provoke discussion in Ukrainian society and the release of regular portions of long-debunked myths.
The most common one of these is that ratification will lead the ICC to prosecute Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers for defending their homeland with weapons. The International Criminal Court has classified the events in Ukraine as an international armed conflict, which confirms the legitimacy of Ukraine’s use of force for self-defense.
In addition, the International Court comes to help when Ukrainian justice is unwilling or unable to prosecute persons who commit crimes in the context of armed conflict. At the national level, Ukraine has taken and is taking all necessary measures to investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian servicemen. In addition, offenses that are not systemic and large-scale international crimes are not the subjects of the ICC’s attention at all.
The main thing we need to realize is that the work of the International Criminal Court does not replace the national justice system, but the international institution is our chance to get the high command of the Russian Federation by means of international humanitarian law, since the ICC’s task is to prosecute top perpetrators. The delay in ratifying the Rome Statute is essentially a denial of the possibility to bring those responsible to justice.
We have the political will, the credibility of international justice, and the firm intention not to leave crimes without due legal assessment and criminals without punishment.
Iryna Venediktova is the prosecutor general of Ukraine. She took office in March 2020. She is a former acting head of the State Investigation Bureau and ex-chair of the Committee on Legal Policy of the Verkhovna Rada.
