International Criminal Court: Prosecutor Karim Khan Investigates Alleged International Crimes in Ukraine.
GHRTV
19-04-2022
Grace ATALUI MOKANGO
International Justice and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
Since 13 April 2022, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan and his team have been in Ukraine to cooperate with Ukrainian judicial authorities to search for evidence of the commission of war crimes or other international crimes in the armed conflict with Russia.
The Prosecutor of the Court met with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Iryna Venediktova, in Kyiv and welcomed the close cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities with the ICC's independent investigations. At a meeting on 13 April 2022, the two prosecuting bodies agreed that deepening engagement & strengthening partnerships were essential to ensure accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine. Later, the ICC Prosecutor visited Boutcha and said that “Ukraine is a crime scene. We are here because we have reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC are being committed. We have to cut through the fog of war to get to the truth”. In addition, the Prosecutor also visited Borodyanka and stated that "The voices of those impacted by alleged crimes must be at the centre of our independent work to establish the truth. Survivors and the families of victims will be full partners in our collective efforts to deliver justice".
All these endeavours demonstrate the International Criminal Court's commitment to prosecute and seek the truth about violations of the Rome Statute and violations of the laws and customs of war, such as targeting civilians in conflict. The Prosecutor's office has not issued any press release on their further actions in Ukraine.
Source and further reading
International Criminal Court , (13 April 2022), Prosecutor #KarimAAKhanQC visits Borodyanka, Ukraine(tweet), Twitter account: @IntlCrimCourt. From:
https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt/status/1514546733237387267
