The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskyhas called for the creation of a special court “to punish the crimes of Russian aggression”from the headquarters of the International Criminal Court (CPI) in The Hague, where he attended this Thursday by surprise for security reasons and after last March issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
Zelensky believes that Vladimir Putin “deserves to be condemned for his criminal actions from here”, he said from the Criminal Court in The Hague, where he arrived from Finland, during a speech entitled There will be no peace without justice for Ukraine.
the ukrainian president has rejected any kind of “hybrid immunity for war criminals” and stressed that only a “full-fledged” court could guarantee a “full justice” and a “lasting peace”, for what it demands “bold decisions” to correct the deficiencies of international law. “It is our historical responsibility” make the punishment of the crime of aggression inevitable to avoid new wars, he stressed.
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Zelenski’s visit coincides this Thursday, May 4, with the memory day, in memory of the fallen in World War II, a day in which several commemoration events are planned, the most important being in Dam Square in Amsterdam, although it has not been confirmed whether the Ukrainian president will have any role in these events.
Before taking the floor, the Ukrainian president met with the president of the Court, Piotr Hofmanski, and the secretary of the Court Osvaldo Zavala Aguilar. After this stop, Zelenski met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and the Belgian head of government, Alexander deCroo. Later, he will visit an Air Force base with the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander.
Zelensky did not leave Ukraine during the first 10 months of the Russian invasion until, in December 2022, he moved to the United States. Since then, he has visited several European capitals to meet with senior officials.
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On Wednesday, the president was in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, where he participated in a summit of leaders of the Nordic countries and met with the president, Sauli Niinisto. Zelensky is expected to Also travel to Germany at the end of next week.
Arrest warrant against Putin
The International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants last March, one against Putin, and the other against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian presidential commissioner for the Rights of the Child, for the alleged illegal deportation of children and their transfer from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, which could constitute a war crime.
The charges announced by this court are the first international accusations against the Kremlin leader since the invasion began. It is also the first time in history that The Hague appoints the president of a country that is part of the United Nations Security Council.
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Although this decision is unprecedented, putting Putin on the bench will not be so easy. While it is true that The Hague does not grant immunity to heads of state or positions of power in cases of alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court. In addition, the Russian Constitution does not provide for the extradition of nationals.
Russia is not part of the International Criminal Court, so while you are in Russian territory you cannot be detained, although you can if you fly over the airspace of the 123 countries signatories to the founding text of the ICC: most of the countries of the European Union and Central Africa, but not China, Iran, India or the United States, which did not ratify the Statute.
