Parliamentary vote advances accountability efforts to address Russian aggression and committed crimes in Ukraine
(KYIV, August 21, 2024)—Today, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), an essential step towards holding Russia accountable for the large-scale crimes committed during its war of aggression against Ukraine. Fortify Rights encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to rapidly implement the legal reforms necessary in their national legislation to comply with the Rome Statute.
“We warmly welcome the decisive vote of the Ukrainian Parliament to become a member state of the ICC,” said Vyacheslav Likhachev, Human Rights Associate at Fortify Rights. “The ratification of the Rome Statute is an important signal of the commitment of the Ukrainian government to hold Russia’s leaders accountable for its crimes and war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian parliament ratified the Rome Statute, although it invoked Article 124, which allows member states to refuse the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes committed by its nationals for a period of seven years. Fortify Rights called on Ukraine to fully recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC over all war crimes committed in Ukraine and to commit to investigate and hold everyone accountable if they engaged in any such crimes.
“In the current war in Ukraine, it is clear that the vast majority of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by Russian forces,” said Vyacheslav Likhachev. “But Ukraine should commit to ensuring that its own soldiers respect the laws of war and to investigate and prosecute any violations that may occur in the future. By respecting the laws of war, Ukraine has nothing to fear from ICC jurisdiction.”
The ratification will not enter into force until Ukraine adopts laws to implement the statute’s provisions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted the corresponding bill to the parliament last week. The draft law is expected to be considered by parliament in September.
The bill introduces the definition of “crimes against humanity” into Ukraine’s criminal legislation and expands and clarifies the specific content of war crimes to reflect more closely the definitions in the Rome Statute. However, the proposed definitions in the bill do not include all definitions of war crimes contained in the Rome Statute. The draft does not fully cover crimes related to causing disproportionate harm to the environment, the involvement of children in combat operations, or the deliberate attacks on personnel engaged in peacekeeping missions under the U.N. Charter. In addition, the proposed bill does not fully address the rights of victims of war crimes, such as their rights to compensation, restitution, and rehabilitation.
“While Ukraine took a giant step today in joining the ICC and reforming its laws to align with the Rome Statute, further legal reforms are needed to fully harmonize Ukraine’s laws with international standards of justice,” said Vyacheslav Likhachev. “Ukraine has a primary obligation to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed on its territory within its national justice system, and such domestic prosecutions should meet the standards of the Rome Statute.”