39 countries apply to ICC for investigation into situation in Ukraine

By Busra Nur Cakmak and Selman Aksunger

ANKARA/THE HAUGE (AA) – Thirty-nine countries have applied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an investigation into Russia’s war on Ukraine, the ICC prosecutor said Wednesday.

“On 28 February, I announced my decision to seek authorization to open an investigation into the Situation in Ukraine, on the basis of my Office's earlier conclusions arising from its preliminary examination, and encompassing any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,” said Karim Khan.

“In the same statement, I indicated that active investigations by my Office would be significantly expedited if a State Party to the Rome Statute were to refer the situation to my Office, as provided in article 14 of the Statute,” Khan said, adding his office received referrals from 39 countries including the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Norway.

Khan said that with these applications from countries, evidence regarding war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine began to be collected.

“The support of States Parties and the international community more broadly will be essential as we seek to meet the inherent challenges faced in the conduct of these investigations. I will therefore seek the partnership and contributions of all States in order to address our need for additional resources across all situations addressed by my Office,” he said.

The countries include Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Greek Cypriot Administration, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Since Ukraine and Russia were not parties to the ICC, the Court did not have general jurisdiction regarding crimes committed by citizens of these two states or crimes committed on the territory of these two countries.

On Sept. 8, 2015, Ukraine granted the Court limited jurisdiction to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during and after the "Maidan Events" of Nov. 21, 2013.

With the applications from 39 countries party to the ICC, the jurisdiction of the court was expanded to cover both crimes before November 2013 and “present allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed on any part of the territory of Ukraine by any person.”