There is no justice without accountability.
Since Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked Ukraine’s heartland, and indeed since the 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, invading Russian armies have committed numerous atrocities. This includes deliberate targeting of Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture, unlawful deprivation of freedom, abuse of prisoners of war, and forcible transfer of civilians, including children, according to Amnesty International.
Intent on holding to account those who committed some of the worst atrocities, Ukrainian authorities, Ukraine’s allies and various NGOs are documenting the abuses.
“Within Ukraine, … Ukrainian national authorities have conducted really solid investigations and are advancing justice by bringing cases in national courts,” said Beth Van Schaack, U.S. Ambassador at Large for Global Criminal Justice.
“They've had 17 cases go to verdict with individuals whom they have in custody, prisoners of war who've been prosecuted for war crimes and other breaches of Ukrainian law, and also doing a number of other cases in absentia in order to provide some measure of justice for Ukraine's victims. They're doing this in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights, with an eye towards ensuring and adhering to all the best practices.”
“They've also done an incredible job of documenting crimes and preserving that information for future accountability,” said Ambassador Van Schaack.
“Outside of Ukraine, we have seen an unprecedented mobilization by the international community around the imperative of justice,” she noted.
“We've seen a joint investigative team be stood up. We've seen the International Criminal Court be motivated very soon after the war. We had a commission of inquiry stood up at the Human Rights Council, which is the United Nations body. We've also seen the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe advance thematic investigations using its so-called Moscow mechanism.”
In the meantime, Ukraine has also ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and take steps towards conforming its law with the international standards and definitions of international crimes, said Ambassador Van Schaack.
“This includes crimes against humanity and the doctrine of command responsibility. This will help Ukrainian national systems better prosecute the full range of abuses committed by Russian perpetrators in connection with Russia's war of aggression.”
It is crucial that the people of Ukraine receive justice and reparations for the devastating impact of Russia’s illegal war on the people of Ukraine.
