Establishment of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is a necessary and the only effective step to bring russia to justice
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke at the first Bucha Summit, dedicated to discussing mechanisms and ways to bring russia to justice for the crimes it has been committing on Ukrainian soil since 2014.
The event was attended by representatives of various branches of government, the diplomatic corps, and foreign guests.
In his speech, the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed that over almost ten years of war, the international community has come a long way to realise that the main goal of the russian federation in this unprovoked war is the destruction of Ukrainians as a nation.
“The destruction of Ukrainians just because they are Ukrainians. For this purpose, russia is ready to commit crimes. For all this time, it has never been punished for its crimes: crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and unprovoked armed aggression. Therefore, our task today is to do everything possible to ensure that russia is held legally, politically and economically accountable for its atrocities,” Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
He also stressed that Ukraine must demonstrate to the world that times have changed: all crimes committed on our land will be punished, and those involved in their commission will be punished in accordance with all the rules of international court, international relations and the rule of law.
According to the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine, russia’s unleashing of a large-scale war on 24 February was a turning point, after which the civilised world took many important steps. In particular, on 2 March 2022, the ICC Prosecutor considered the appeal of 43 States Parties to the Rome Statute and launched an official investigation into war crimes against humanity and genocide committed on the territory of Ukraine since 21 November 2013.
“But, of course, the most striking and unprecedented decision of the ICC within the framework of this investigation was the issuance of arrest warrants for russian President putin and the russian Children'’ Ombudsman for war crimes on 17 March this year,” Ruslan Stefanchuk reminded the audience.
At the same time, he noted that the ICC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. However, this crime became the starting point for the commission of mass atrocities and other large-scale crimes by members of the aggressor state's military forces, contrary to the imperative norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
“We have to be honest with each other that the crime of aggression is the ‘mother’ of all other crimes. It is because of it that russia committed other crimes. The aggressor should not escape responsibility for this. No one in the future should have any illusions that armed aggression is somehow an acceptable tool for solving political problems. That is why the establishment of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is a necessary and the only effective step to avoid the recurrence of such cases in the future,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
In this regard, he reminded the Summit participants that on 7 October 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution calling on the international community to support the establishment of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which was recently reaffirmed in another statement on 20 March 2023.
“We are deeply convinced, as the Parliament of Ukraine, that such a tribunal should be established and can act much faster in investigating the crime of aggression compared to other international institutions,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.
In addition, he noted that the act of aggression by the russian federation is already a legally recorded fact, as it is mentioned in the UN General Assembly resolution and condemned by the European Council, the EU Council, the European Parliament, the Committee of Ministers and the PACE resolution.
“Now is the time to move from public condemnation to real conviction of international criminals. We are convinced that only the establishment of the tribunal and bringing russia to justice not only for crimes against humanity, but also for the crime of aggression is the only guarantee of peace on the European continent. And our only guarantee of a peaceful future,” the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament said at the end of his speech.