THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Washington Insider Magazine) – The International Criminal Court’s head prosecutor said on Monday that he intends to launch an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine as soon as possible.
Prosecutor Karim Khan stated that the probe will focus on alleged offenses perpetrated before the Russian incursion, but that considering the recent expansion of the conflict, the investigation also will look into any new supposed crimes committed either by a party to the conflict on every aspect of Ukraine’s country’s territory that falls within his jurisdiction.
The court has already initiated a preliminary investigation into crimes related to a pro-Russian Ukrainian government’s violent persecution of pro-European demonstrations in Kyiv in 2013-2014, as well as accusations of atrocities in Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, as well as eastern Ukraine, in which Russia has supported insurgents since 2014.
In Dec 2020, then-ICC Attorney Fatou Bensouda claimed the investigation had revealed evidence of a wide spectrum of behavior comprising war acts of genocide within the Court’s authority in Ukraine. The court’s attorneys, on the other hand, had not yet obtained approval from the judges to launch a full-fledged inquiry.
Khan said he now intends to launch the probe that his predecessor had planned and expand it to encompass crimes committed during the war since Russia invaded Ukraine last week.
Khan has said he will continue to follow events in Ukraine, where there have been allegations of civilian fatalities, and he urged caution and strict compliance to international humanitarian law’s applicable principles.
Since Thursday, 102 people, including 7 children, have already been killed and 304 others have been injured in Ukraine, according to UN human rights head Michelle Bachelet’s office. She stressed that the figure was very certainly undercounted.
According to ABC NEWS, neither Moscow nor Ukraine are among the court’s 123 member countries, but Ukraine has recognized the court’s authority, allowing Khan to probe.
Khan has instructed his staff to look at efforts to preserve proof of crimes, with the next step being to request permission from the court’s justices to launch an inquiry. He did say, however, that if a member country of the court requested an inquiry through a referral, the procedure would be accelerated.
He also stated that he will seek funding for the probe from the court’s member nations and the international community.