US President Joe Biden says the arrest warrant is “justified” and an important mark. However, he points out at the same time that the USA is not a member of the ICC. The EU describes the order as “just the beginning” and the UK also welcomes the court’s decision.
Scores of suspected Russian war crimes and human rights violations are being investigated in the war. This case concerns mass transfers of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The arrest warrant means that the Russian president could be arrested if he sets foot in any of the 123 countries affiliated to the ICC.
“Delicate history” in South Africa
According to international law professor Mark Klamberg, a “delicate story” could arise this summer when Putin is expected to attend a summit in South Africa, which is a member of the ICC.
– They will be in a bind in August. They want to host the summit, but on the other hand, they probably want to show that they are complying with the court’s request for the arrest warrant.
According to Klamberg, however, the South African government has previously refused to arrest people wanted by the ICC.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan recently visited an orphanage in Ukraine where there were no longer any children but only empty cradles and beds. He wants to believe that one day they will be able to bring the president of Russia to justice.
“Look at Milosevic”
-Look at Milosevic, Karadzic, Mladic or Charles Taylor, he says, referring to convicted war criminals from the former Yugoslavia and Liberia.
Neither Russia, the United States, nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, but early in the war, Ukraine allowed the court’s investigators into the country to investigate suspected crimes. Then the court was also given jurisdiction over Ukrainian soil.
In Kiev, the arrest warrants are welcomed, while the US has an infected relationship with the ICC in particular.
When prosecutors in The Hague have tried to investigate war crimes in Afghanistan, the US has responded with sanctions against them. Congress has also enacted laws to protect US military personnel from international lawsuits.
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