War crimes, Ukraine
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, serious allegations of war crimes have emerged against Russian military forces and authorities. Accusations include indiscriminate attacks on civilians, torture, executions, and sexual violence, all of which violate international humanitarian laws established by the Geneva Conventions. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for prominent Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, particularly for the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. In response to these violations, Ukrainian authorities have initiated prosecutions against approximately eighty suspected war criminals.
The classification of these actions extends beyond war crimes to include war of aggression and crimes against humanity, with some legal experts suggesting that acts committed may also constitute genocide. Investigations led by organizations like the United Nations and Amnesty International have documented numerous incidents, such as unlawful airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. While the ICC has the mandate to prosecute war crimes, its jurisdiction is limited as Russia is not a member, which complicates accountability efforts. As the situation evolves, there are calls for establishing a special tribunal to prosecute those responsible for these allegations, as Ukraine continues its own judicial proceedings against identified suspects.
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War crimes, Ukraine
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Russian military and Russian authorities have been accused of war crimes including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, torture, rape, and executions, which all violate international laws regarding acceptable conduct during a war. Russia has also been accused of aggression, which is waging a ruthless, unprovoked war on Ukraine.
Attempts to prosecute members of the Russian military and Russian authorities have been made. For example, a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, for the mass deportation of Ukrainian children into Russia by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. In addition, Ukrainian officials have initiated charges of war crimes against about eighty suspects.
Nations throughout the world have demanded the prosecution of members of the Russian military who have committed war crimes and Putin for aggression to prevent future attacks like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Background
International treaties and laws specify what actions are considered war crimes. Foremost are the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which consist of four treaties and three additional protocols, which establish what conduct is and is not legal during a war regarding the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war, and enemy soldiers. According to the Geneva Conventions, the following are war crimes: deliberate attacks on civilian objects, such as homes, schools, and hospitals; the intentional infliction of severe physical or mental suffering on civilians and prisoners of war; the taking of hostages; the use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons; the forceful removal of civilians from their homes; rape and other forms of sexual violence; and kidnapping and forced disappearance.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was established to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression, which refers to the invasion of a nation without a just cause. The ICC has limitations, however. It can only prosecute individuals from its 123 member countries, and Russia is not one. It also cannot put individuals on trial in absentia. This means that suspects must be present to be prosecuted.
Individual tribunals, which are temporary, have been set up in the past to prosecute those suspected of war crimes. These tribunals have fewer limitations than the ICC. An example is the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Between 1991 and 2001, more than one-hundred sixty individuals, including military officials and politicians, were prosecuted by the ICTY for heinous crimes such as ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and sexual assault.
Overview
Allegations
According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Russia has committed three types of serious war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine: a war of aggression, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Initiating a war of aggression means attacking a nation without provocation or reason. While the concept dates to the 1200s, it re-emerged after World Wars I and II. In the twenty-first century, using military force against another nation is considered just for only three reasons according to international law: in self-defense; when one nation asks another to send troops, such as when the Assad government in Syria asked Russia to send troops to intervene during the Syrian civil war; and if the UN Security Council authorizes a military response such as when it asked countries to intervene after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. According to these guidelines, Russia committed a war of aggression when it invaded Ukraine.
The Russian military is being investigated for committing many war crimes against humanity in Ukraine. These include unlawful airstrikes on civilian structures, such as residential buildings and schools. According to Amnesty International, on March 1 and 2, 2022, Russian air strikes hit eight residential buildings in the town of Borodyanka, killing at least forty residents and displacing six hundred families. Prisoners of war have been subjected to inhumane treatment and possibly extrajudicial executions. Photos and videos on social media showed prisoners being tortured. A video emerged in July 2022 showing a Russian soldier castrating a Ukrainian prisoner before executing him. Other war crimes that the Russian military is accused of include raping women and children, willfully killing civilians, and forcefully separating Ukrainian children from their families.
Proving that a country is guilty of genocide is more difficult than trying individuals for aggression and war crimes. According to the Genocide Convention, genocide refers to the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” A famous example of genocide occurred when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party tried to exterminate all Jewish people in Europe.
Establishing a country’s intent to commit genocide is legally challenging, and the war crimes committed by the country must be linked to its intention. However, many legal scholars have concluded that Russia has committed genocide in Ukraine.
Prosecution
On March 16, 2023, Investigators working with the United Nations Human Rights Office concluded that Russia had committed war crimes against humanity during its invasion of Ukraine. The next day, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued a warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for a war crime. Putin and Lvova-Belova were charged with the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The number of children forcibly taken from their families was cited as 16,221, but Ukrainian officials contend that the number is higher than 120,000.
However, the ICC cannot investigate or prosecute Putin because Russia, like the United States, is not one of its 123 member countries. Putin could be arrested if he travels to a country that is willing to arrest him, but head-of-state officials like Putin generally have immunity from prosecution in other countries.
Leaders of several countries, including US president Joe Biden, have suggested setting up a tribunal for the purpose of prosecuting Putin for aggression. This type of court could prosecute Putin even if he remains in Russia. However, critics contend that creating a tribunal will take too much time and be cost-prohibitive.
Ukraine has already begun prosecuting members of the Russian military for war crimes. As of mid-2023, its prosecutor general has identified more than six hundred suspects and initiated charges against eighty of them.
Bibliography
Hinton, Alex. “Op-Ed: War Crimes or Genocide? Either Way, We Can’t Let Russian Atrocities Go Unanswered.” Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2022, www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-05/ukraine-russia-bucha-genocide-war-crimes. Accessed 6 June 2023.
Howard, Lise Morje. “A Look at the Laws of War—And How Russia Is Violating Them.” United States Institute of Peace, 29 Sept. 2022, www.usip.org/publications/2022/09/look-laws-war-and-how-russia-violating-them. Accessed 6 June 2023.
Marcias, Amanda. “Russia Has Committed More than 65,000 War Crimes in Ukraine, Prosecutor General Says.” CNBC, 1 Feb. 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/02/01/ukraine-russia-war-65000-war-crimes-committed-prosecutor-general-says.html. Accessed 6 June 2023.
“Russia’s Energy Grid Attack, Torture in Ukraine, Could Be Crimes Against Humanity.” UN News, 16 Mar. 2023, news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1134652. Accessed 6 June 2023.
Shuster, Simon. “Inside Ukraine’s Push to Try Putin for War Crimes.” Time, 30 Mar. 2023, time.com/6266991/ukraine-push-putin-war-crimes/. Accessed 6 June 2023.
Thrush, Glenn. “Justice Dept. Embraces Supporting Role in Pursuing War Crimes in Ukraine.” New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-crimes-justice-dept.html. Accessed 6 June 2023.
“War in Ukraine: The Netherlands Working to Stop War Crimes and Fight Impunity.” Government of the Netherlands, 4 May 2023, www.government.nl/latest/news/2023/04/05/war-in-ukraine-the-netherlands-working-to-stop-war-crimes-and-fight-impunity. Accessed 6 June 2023.