Ukrainian Parliament adopts legislation allowing the prosecution of International crimes.

On 20 May 2021, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill that will support judiciary authorities to prosecute international crimes, such as crimes against humanity and war crimes, in the country. Currently, crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine are classified under separate articles of Ukraine’s criminal code and are subject to statutes of limitations. It hinders Ukraine’s primary international responsibility to investigate, prosecute and punish international crimes. The new legislation includes provisions on command responsibility, the statute of limitations for international crimes, and universal jurisdiction for international crimes. The president still needs to sign the bill, but this advancement in the Ukrainian criminal law will be useful for the country to start to investigate and punish the war crimes committed in its eastern territory during the Russian occupation in the country. This armed conflict has taken a high toll on civilians, from threatening their physical safety to limiting access to food, medicines, adequate housing, and schools. In Crimea, the Russian-occupied part of the territory, Russian authorities continuously persecute members of some ethnic groups, such as the Crime tartans, and forcibly take male individuals to serve in their military forces, violating International Humanitarian Law. For further information, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/21/ukraine-international-crimes-bill-adopted#