March 17, 2023
Cited article by Mike Corder and Raf Casert , AP News
HRRC supports the International Criminal Court in it's judgement to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Putin. Putin's actions in Ukraine have been devastating to Ukrainians and he must be held accountable. It is up to the international community to execute this warrant and bring Putin to justice.
Article Summary
Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The Court stated that Putin "is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation." A second arrest warrant was issued for the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for a similar crime.
Russian officials have denied the accusations and rejected the arrest warrants as "null and void". However, in a meeting yesterday, a UN investigation revealed that continued Russian attacks in Ukraine amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture and killings of civilians. This finding pushed the ICC into it's decision today. While the ICC doesn't have enforcers, the judges' warrants can be executed by the international community. This is a huge step toward accountability and justice.