The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The warrant was issued for Putin’s suspected involvement in the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has furthermore taken the decisive step of issuing a warrant for the immediate arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the esteemed guardian of children’s rights within the Russian presidential office, on parallel allegations.
Russia Not Recognizing Putin Arrest Warrant
Russia has dismissed the ICC’s move as meaningless, saying that the decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for their country.
They have stated that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it. However, the ICC President has said that it is completely irrelevant that Russia had not ratified the Rome Statute.
According to the ICC statute, the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the territory of a state party or a state which has accepted its jurisdiction. Ukraine has accepted the ICC twice – in 2014 and then in 2015. This is surely their decision to issue the Putin arrest warrant.
43 states had referred “the situation in Ukraine to the court, which means they have formally triggered our jurisdiction”. “The court has jurisdiction over crimes committed on anyone on the territory of Ukraine from November 2013 onwards regardless of the nationality of the alleged perpetrators,” the ICC President said.
The allegations against Putin and Lvova-Belova are related to the abduction of children from Ukraine. The ICC believes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others, and/or through others, and for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts.
While the ICC has no powers to enforce its own Putin arrest warrants, this move by the court has caused further tensions between Russia and the international community. The ICC’s decision is a significant one and could lead to further action against Putin and others involved in the conflict in Ukraine
What Next Regarding ICC Arrest Warrant?
The ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine is a significant development in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The allegations of child abductions from Ukraine have led to the ICC’s belief that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the acts committed by his subordinates.
While Russia has dismissed the ICC’s move as meaningless, the court’s jurisdiction is not dependent on Russia’s ratification of the Rome Statute. This decision by the ICC could lead to further action against Putin and others involved in the conflict and highlights the importance of international accountability for war crimes and human rights abuses.