Baerbock argues that no one should go unpunished in aggressive wars

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“In the 21st century, no one should wage a war of aggression and go unpunished,” the Green politician demanded before a trip to New York on Sunday. There she wants to participate in a ceremony at the United Nations (UN) to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). A speech to the UN Security Council and a meeting with World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder are also scheduled.

“In the eyes of the perpetrators, the ICC is already a sharp sword,” said Baerbock. In the eyes of the victims, he is the hope that their suffering will not go unpunished. “That is why a gap in law enforcement is particularly painful,” said the minister. In the case of crimes of aggression against “the most precious asset we have: our peace”, the obstacles to prosecution are still too high. International law to “do justice to the realities of the 21st century”. The minister is accompanied by the German candidate judge for the Court of Justice, Ute Hohoff.

During a visit to the court’s headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, in January, Baerbock had already proposed changing the legal basis – the Rome Statute – to allow the offense of aggressive war to be prosecuted without restriction. It should be sufficient if the victim state of an aggression falls under the jurisdiction of the court. Currently, only the UN Security Council can take the matter to court, as neither Russia nor Ukraine are contracting parties. As a permanent member, Russia has veto power in the Security Council.

Is there a special tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression?

Baerbock also supports the proposal to hold the Russian leadership accountable for the offensive war against Ukraine through a special tribunal. Such a tribunal should be based on Ukrainian law. International elements include a location abroad, international judges and prosecutors, and a supporting UN General Assembly resolution.

According to the federal government, the German position is shared by the other G7 countries and many EU members. The G7 group of economically strong democracies also includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US and Great Britain.

Baerbock: Kidnapping Ukrainian children is barbaric

Baerbock also criticized: “The barbarity of the Russian war is particularly evident in the fate of the many thousands of children abducted from Ukraine to Russia.” Russia is robbing them not only of their youth, but also of their future and identity. About 20,000 children have been deported by Russian authorities, according to Ukrainian information.

In mid-March, the ICC therefore issued arrest warrants against Putin and the Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lwowa-Belowa for war crimes. From August 22 to 24, South Africa is eagerly awaiting a summit of the Brics countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). If Putin arrives, he could be arrested.

The ICC launched a war crimes investigation in Ukraine shortly after the start of Russia’s offensive war in February last year. Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan sent the largest team of investigators the court has ever deployed to the war zone. A separate office was also opened in Kiev.

(SDA)

Source: Blick