ADescribing Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine as a “prime crime”, Foreign Minister Annalena Beyrbach has demanded that everything be done to hold the Russian president accountable. An experience where Putin treats vulnerable populations as “children, but in a brutal way, enlists them in a war of extermination,” he said Monday in New York at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the international. Criminal Court (ICC).
Baerbock accused Putin of deliberately kidnapping children and robbing them of their identities. That is why it is so important to her, especially on the 25th anniversary of the Criminal Court, that we make it clear that we have a gap in international law. Paradoxically, in the case of the “original crime, war of aggression,” international criminal law has a loophole in which not all states and government leaders who have waged wars of aggression can be charged. The ceremony was also a mandate to “further develop international criminal law because no one can wage a war of aggression with impunity in the 21st century.”
In his address, Baerbock said against the backdrop of the lack of a majority for reform of the ICC’s statute-based Rome Statute: “We have a responsibility to find ways to close the accountability gap for the original crime. (. . .) to close.” She added: “Doing nothing, not trying, would be wrong. Because if we don’t respond, the international community’s response to Russia’s aggression is impunity.” Then the world would be “a place where all states live in fear of a larger neighbor.”
An arrest warrant has been issued against Putin
Beierbach elaborated on the Nazi crimes in World War II. “My country, Germany, waged inhumane wars of aggression and committed the most brutal genocide that killed millions,” he said. “Therefore, we have a special responsibility to do our part to ensure that such crimes do not happen again.”
In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. They are said to be responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children and minors from the occupied territories to Russia. In this context, Moscow talks about evacuation.
Berbach hailed the ICC’s March 2023 arrest warrant against Putin as an important sign. He “underlines that this brutal war of aggression is first waged against the weak and the international community listens first to the weak and children in particular”. The move means Putin has not traveled to any country that has recognized the court’s law. “It also made it clear that international criminal law is at work,” the Union External Affairs Minister said. “Peace through justice. This is the strength of the international community against Russia’s brutal war of aggression,” he said.
In January, Baerbach had already proposed changing its legal basis – the Rome Statute – so that the crime of war of aggression could also be prosecuted unimpeded when he visited the court’s seat in The Hague, Netherlands. It should be sufficient if the aggrieved State is subject to the Court’s jurisdiction. Currently, only the UN Security Council can refer the case to the court, as neither Russia nor Ukraine are contracting parties. However, as a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia has veto power, so such a case is unlikely.
Perbach also supports plans to hold the Russian leadership accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine through a special court. Such tribunal shall be based on Ukrainian law. The international component may include placement abroad, international judges and prosecutors, and supporting UN General Assembly resolution. According to the federal government, the German position is shared by other G-7 countries and several EU members. France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States and Great Britain also belong to the G7 round of economically strong democracies.
Following the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin on war charges, the August 22-24 summit of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in South Africa is eagerly awaited. Putin may be arrested if he comes.
Berbaugh won cross-party recognition for his push for reform of international law to criminalize wars of aggression. “Until now, the criminal offense of the crime of aggression has not been registered by the International Criminal Court,” CDU foreign politician Roderich Kieswetter told Germany’s Editors’ Network newspaper. “Therefore, it is good that the Foreign Secretary is committed to this in parallel with the action to investigate Russia’s war crimes against Ukraine.”
Kieswetter said it was important for Ukraine to set up an international ad hoc tribunal for Russia’s aggression. “The prosecution and, if possible, indictment of Russia’s war crimes against Ukraine is critical so that the rules-based order finally shows consistency.”
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