The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message appeared on the official website of the court on March 17. In addition, a warrant was issued for the children's rights commissioner in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ICC suspects both of committing war crimes - forced deportations and displacement of the population, in particular children, from the occupied territories of Ukraine. International law can regard this as genocide. The court's website states that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin is personally responsible for the alleged crimes. Now the Russian president has the official status of a suspect in an international crime - the illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children.
This means that according to this warrant, the local authorities of the countries that have ratified the Rome Statute and recognize the jurisdiction of the court, in the event of Putin's visit to them, must arrest him. This number includes 123 states, including all the countries of Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of South America (including Russia's ally Venezuela), as well as a large part of the countries of Africa and Asia, including Japan, South Korea and other leaders of the region . In addition, if necessary and if there is political will, the criminal Putin can be brought to trial and other countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute. The leading countries of the world that do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ISS include, first of all, China, India, Turkey, and Russia itself withdrew its signature in 2016.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine previously handed over to the ICC more than 40 volumes of materials – more than 1,000 pages. They recorded the deportation of more than 16 thousand children from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkov and Kherson regions. However, the real figure could be much higher. Ukraine has so far managed to return home 308 children.
Now world leaders will think thrice before shaking his hand or sitting down at the negotiating table with him. The world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable.
However, this is only one of the first proceedings of this international court. The day before, it was reported that the International Criminal Court is preparing to open two cases of Russian war crimes in Ukraine: in connection with the abduction of Ukrainian children and deliberate Russian attacks against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
Links:
https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and
https://ru.euronews.com/2023/03/17/arrest-warrant-against-russian-president-vladimir-putin
https://www.dw.com/ru/mezdunarodnyj-ugolovnyj-sud-vydal-order-na-arest-putina/a-65029163