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DEThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine continues to work towards expanding the international coalition to create a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and hold the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation to account.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba called for support for the Special Tribunal, opening a special ministerial event entitled “Aggression against Ukraine: Impact on human rights and humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the world” on the sidelines of the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
A total of 55 countries took part in the event, including at the level of foreign ministers: Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Slovenia, France, Sweden.
The geography of the participants shows that responsibility for Russia’s crimes is a priority for the global coalition of states, including the Global South countries.
“We do not stop for a moment the work on the creation of the Special Tribunal to hold Russia’s political and military leadership and their henchmen to account for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. All the atrocities of the Russians are derived from this crime. It is necessary to eliminate the causes, not just the symptoms,” the minister said.
Ukraine’s top diplomat also drew attention to numerous violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by the Russians, in particular, the abduction of Ukrainian children and their forced adoption into Russian families.
“Russia is carrying out perhaps the largest child abduction operation in modern history. The Convention on the Prevention of Genocide clearly defines this as the crime of genocide. These children need to get immediate protection and return home. All Russian criminals involved in this operation should be brought to justice for their participation in the genocide,” the minister emphasised.
Kuleba also called on the UN Human Rights Council member states to extend the mandate of the UN International Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
“The UN International Independent Commission documents evidence of large-scale and systematic violations of human rights, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Russia which will be used in future international trials. The extension of the mandate will be a significant contribution to ensuring justice,” he stressed.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to the UN and other international organisations and their donors for helping Ukrainians during the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
As a reminder, on 26 January, representatives of 21 countries gathered in Prague at the founding meeting of the Coalition for the Creation of Special Tribunal, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to work out the parameters for bringing the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation to justice for the crime of aggression against our country.
On 22 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine gathered 45 countries for a high-level UN event dedicated to human rights violations during the Russian aggression, in particular, to discuss the creation of the Special Tribunal.
Following the negotiations of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba in New York, Guatemala became the first Latin America country that decided to join the Coalition for the Creation of Special Tribunal.
Natalia Tolub
