ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Putin over War Crime Allegations

ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Putin over War Crime Allegations

Date: 18-03-2022

Emily Wolfe 

Europe and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, for the "unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children (The Guardian, 2023). The warrants are the first to be issued by the ICC for crimes committed in the Ukraine war and one of the rare occasions when the court has issued a warrant for a sitting head of state, putting Putin in the company of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The Kremlin was dismissive of the ICC's announcement, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that "the decisions of the international criminal court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view" (The Guardian, 2023). She went on to say that "Russia is not a party to the Rome statute of the international criminal court and bears no obligations under it" (The Guardian, 2023).

Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, who was also named in the arrest warrant, claimed that the warrant was a show of appreciation for her work in assisting Russian children affected by the war (The Guardian, 2023). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy estimated that the number of deported children was much higher than the stated 16,000 and saw the warrants as a crucial step towards accountability for the crimes committed (The Guardian, 2023).

Kyiv-based human rights lawyer Wayne Jordash believes that these warrants are only the beginning and that more will follow in the coming months (The Guardian, 2023). He sees them as a warning to other leaders that they will be held accountable for their actions.

Similar to Gaddafi and Bashir, Putin is unlikely to face justice anytime soon, as Russia does not acknowledge the court's jurisdiction. However, this arrest warrant will limit his freedom of travel to the ICC's 123 member states, further isolating him. Despite the Russian government's refusal to cooperate with the ICC investigation and its statement that the court's decisions have no legal meaning for the country, the international community sees this as a significant step in holding those responsible for war crimes accountable (The Guardian, 2023). The ICC pre-trial chamber of judges considered keeping the warrants secret but decided that making them public could "contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes" (The Guardian, 2023).

Sources and Further Reading:

 Borger, J. and Sauer, P. (2023, March 17). Vladimir Putin facing arrest warrant for Ukraine war crimes. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/17/vladimir-putin-arrest-warrant-ukraine-war-crimes

International Criminal Court. (n.d.). About the Court. Retrieved from https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/overview