Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said in a speech addressed to the participants in a conference entitled "Accountability" that is currently being held in Ukraine. "Russia must pay for its crimes. We are proud of the agreement to establish the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in The Hague. It is an essential step towards prosecution." For the crime of aggression. We must do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice. A European statement issued in Brussels on Saturday quoted the text of Ursula's speech in this regard, in which she said, "The Russian invasion has caused untold suffering to Ukraine. Almost a year ago, the world discovered the horrors of butcha. I was there myself and witnessed the atrocities of the Russian forces. There is mounting evidence of direct attacks against civilians as well as on energy and other infrastructure. Russian forces are known to have committed torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, and summary executions. Even the children did not survive. Russia must be held responsible for these horrific crimes. Putin must be held accountable. We must do everything we can to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In her speech, von der Leyen added, "The European Union supports the role of the International Criminal Court. We also believe that there should be a court ad hoc to prosecute the Russian crime of aggression. I am proud that you will sign at this conference, as a first step, the agreement to establish the International Center for Prosecuting the Crime of Aggression in The Hague." The EU will continue to work with our partners to ensure Russia pays the price. We stand united for justice for Ukraine.”
The amended agreement of the current joint investigation team of Eurojust, the European Justice Agency, is being signed at a conference on accountability, which is being held in Ukraine this weekend in order to facilitate the establishment of the ICPA within its structure.
In the aftermath of the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine, President von der Leyen assigned the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, to follow up and support the coordination of EU efforts to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
There is a lot of work going on in this regard. A Joint Investigation Team has been set up with the support of Eurojust to gather evidence and investigate core international crimes committed in Ukraine. The ICC's joint investigation team consists of Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Romania.
The Eurojust Regulations have been amended to give the Agency the legal possibility to preserve, store and analyze evidence relating to core international crimes. The judicial database was launched in February 2023.
According to the Commission in Brussels, the International Criminal Court is competent to prosecute the most serious international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is also competent to prosecute the crime of aggression but only in relation to states that have accepted their jurisdiction in respect of this crime. The crime of aggression is a criminal commission by the supreme political and military leadership. Given that Russia does not accept the jurisdiction of the ICC, and therefore the ICC cannot exercise this jurisdiction in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. To bridge this gap, the European Commission in November 2022 presented various options to member states to ensure that Russian individuals are held accountable for atrocities committed in Ukraine, including through the creation of an ad hoc tribunal supported by the UN and the international community, to effectively prosecute the crime of aggression. The ICPA is the first step in this process to preserve evidence and prepare prosecution for future trials, whether national or international.