Topline
Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor for two U.N. war crimes tribunals, called for the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with a Swiss newspaper published Saturday.
The former U.N. prosecutor Carla Del Ponte
Key Facts
“Putin is a war criminal,” Del Ponte, who oversaw the U.N.’s prosecution of war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia from 1999 to 2007, told Le Temps.
Del Ponte said an international arrest warrant would restrict Putin from leaving Russia, and “it would be a strong signal that he has many states against him,” according to Deutsche Welle.
Del Ponte told Blick that she was shocked by the use of mass graves in Ukraine to bury victims of Russian attacks, which she said reminded her of what she saw in the former Yugoslavia.
She said attacks on civilians and bombardment of civilian buildings and villages were among war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Both Russia and Ukraine should be investigated for alleged war crimes, she said, referring to reports of Ukrainian soldiers’ shooting and torturing Russian prisoners of war.
Big Number
1,325. That’s how many Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, including 120 children, and 2,017 have been injured, according to U.N. estimates.
Key Background
Many top U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, have said Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, went to Ukraine last month as part of the court’s investigation into Russia’s alleged war crimes Del Ponte said if the ICC finds Russia guilty of war crimes, the court must get to the bottom of who was responsible for making decisions, AP reported. However, the chances of Putin or top Russian officials facing consequences for their actions are low. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the ICC, though the latter has accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
Further Reading
Ex-UN prosecutor urges global arrest warrant for Putin (Associated Press)
U.S. Declares Russia Has Committed War Crimes In Ukraine (Forbes)
War Crimes In Ukraine? Here’s What Russia’s Been Accused Of And What Comes Next. (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2022/04/02/ex-un-prosecutor-calls-for-international-arrest-warrant-for-putin-calls-him-a-war-criminal/