UK Fundraising ICC to Condemn Russian War Crimes

On Monday, more than 40 justice ministers will gather in London to discuss bolstering international support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it looks into potential war crimes in the war in Ukraine.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on Friday for the war crime of “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children.

“We are uniting in London today united by one purpose, to hold war criminals to account for the horrors committed in Ukraine during this unfair, unjustified and unlawful invasion,” UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said in a statement.

The UK will continue to offer the International Criminal Court the resources, personnel, and knowledge necessary to guarantee that justice and the rest of the world are done.

The world community was urged to raise support for the ICC in December by the prosecutor, Karim Khan, who will be present at the London conference. The court needs financial and technological resources to carry out its investigations.

London has previously announced further funding of about £400,000 (EUR452,000) to support British experts working with the ICC or to pay for psychiatric treatment for witnesses and victims of crimes.

Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, minister of justice and security for the Netherlands, stated that the international community must ensure that those responsible for the atrocities perpetrated during the war in Ukraine are brought to justice.

He said in the statement, “Together we must establish the truth, attain justice, and ensure security.

“The Ukrainian people have repeatedly demonstrated that they will decide their future.” Although they could be angry and irritated, they never give up. They merit our assistance in obtaining justice.

The Netherlands sent two forensic investigation teams in 2022 under the auspices of the ICC to gather data for investigations into crimes committed in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.

The ICC has about 900 employees and a 169 million euro budget for 2023. It asked for 175 million euros from July 2018 until 2023.

The court’s 123 member states are jointly responsible for maintaining its budget. International organizations, people, and companies also make voluntary donations to it.

The UK and the Netherlands organized the meeting in London together.

There will be between 40 and 50 delegates from different nations.

Image: A courtroom at the International Criminal Court, The Hague (photo credit: CC BY Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Flickr)