IBAHRI statement
HRC57 – Item 4 – Interactive Dialogue – Ukraine COI
24 September 2024
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The International Bar Association, the Ukrainian Bar Association, International Service for Human Rights, Human Rights House Foundation, and FIDH continue to condemn ongoing widespread violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the course of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, including recent brutal attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, finding reasonable grounds to believe that he bears individual criminal responsibility for crimes under Art. 25(3a) and 28(b) of the Rome Statute, in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
States Parties to the Rome Statute have a legal obligation to cooperate fully with the ICC. When the Court calls on them to arrest and surrender a suspect, they are required to do so. In this respect, we deplore that Mongolia recently failed to comply with its obligations and we urge other State Parties not to do so in the future.
No one is above the law. We must stand with victims and those who seek justice and we must stand united against impunity. To this aim, cooperation with the ICC is essential.
The ICC integrity must always be preserved. We call on all States to ensure full cooperation with the Court, so that it can keep fulfilling its mandate of ensuring justice for all victims of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
