Allies demand an international tribunal to try Russia for crimes in Ukraine

At the “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” conference, the seventh point of the ten-point peace formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was discussed, which envisages “restoring justice”.

The Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based, agreed to take the lead in implementing this point.

“We are prepared to take all necessary steps to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. If necessary, at the international level. (..)

All the necessary steps to ensure that the crime of aggression is examined by a special tribunal and that Russia pays for the damage caused,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruin Slote.

The conference published a declaration signed by 44 countries that condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine and expressed support for the creation of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russian crimes.

The declaration also demands that Russia pay compensation for the damage caused to Ukrainians, and encourages exploring the possibility of using frozen Russian assets for this purpose.

The Netherlands offered to host both the tribunal and the compensation mechanism, according to the declaration.

The Dutch foreign minister said the compensation mechanism, officially known as the Ukraine Damage Register, allows Ukrainians to file claims for damage to their property as a result of the Russian invasion.

She said the registry is already up and running and has already processed more than 100 claims.

The conference was chaired by Bruina Slota together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleb, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Dilan Yesilgoza and the Commissioner of Justice of the European Union (EU) Didier Rander.

Ukrainian officials have documented thousands of war crimes committed by Russian troops, including deliberate attacks on civilians, attacks on cultural sites and medical facilities, torture and deportations.

The General Prosecutor’s Office reported on March 18 that Ukraine has collected pre-trial information on more than 128,000 victims of war crimes.