The US still does not have a clear position on the creation of a special tribunal to try Russians for war crimes.
A draft resolution is circulating in the United Nations on the creation of an international tribunal similar to Nuremberg to hold Russia’s leadership accountable for crimes of aggression in Ukraine.
“There are signs that US resistance to this proposal may weaken due to persistent pressure from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi,” writes The Guardian.
It is emphasized that this week the US ambassador for global criminal justice, Beth Van Schaak, said that this is what Ukraine wants and it will be of great importance.
“This is something that worries President Zelensky very much. This is what Ukraine wants, and I think it will have a lot of weight. The question is, will they be votes at the general meeting? So far, all resolutions regarding Ukraine have been approved. The number of votes was pretty big,” said Beth Van Schaak.
However, she added, the US still does not have a clear position on the creation of a special tribunal. However, she considers it expedient to conduct absentee trials of Russians accused of war crimes if they cannot be extradited.
She suggested that the US could declassify the intelligence to help identify those principally responsible for preparing and waging a war that clearly violated the UN charter.
Van Schaak said two options were being considered for the tribunal. The first is a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the UN, which is “blessed” by the General Assembly. It will create a separate tribunal that will have the political support of the entire international community.
The second option, according to her, is a national court created by Ukraine with the EU or the Council of Europe with the addition of an international element, which may be approved by a vote of the UN General Assembly.
In both cases, there will be a trial for the crime of aggression. “It will be a limited number of defendants, probably the top political leadership, and possibly some senior military figures,” Van Schaak said.
International Court of Justice for the Russian Federation
As reported, Ukraine took the initiative to create a special tribunal to bring the Russian leadership to criminal responsibility for committing the crime of aggression against our state. The creation of such a tribunal was supported by the PACE, the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
On December 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Ukraine is gathering a critical mass of support for launching a special tribunal on the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The head of state is convinced that there will be a tribunal and justice will be done.
Earlier, Zelenskyy informed the international community of the Ukrainian formula for achieving peace and called on the leaders of foreign countries to help Ukraine implement it.
