It’ll be impossible for the West to hold Vladimir Putin or his generals to account for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
More than 2000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including more than 100 children.
Western leaders including President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have accused Russia of war crimes.
The bombing of a train station in Ukraine where many were gathered to evacuate.
As evidence of Russian atrocities against Ukraine builds, so do calls to bring the perpetrators to justice — including from US President Joe Biden, who recently said Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.
“You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden told reporters on Monday. “We have to gather the information … and we have to get all the detail so this can be an actual, have a war crimes trial,” Biden said, calling Putin “a war criminal.”
The ICC itself is based in the Hague, the Netherlands. The court’s remit is to try grievous crimes like war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity.
The ICC doesn’t try defendants in absentia – they must be present in court.
But Professor Joseph Camilleri from Latrobe University says it will be very hard to convict the leader of a nuclear country.
“War crimes have been committed on a very large scale over 20, 40. 50 years. When it is small powers. little countries. Some chance of bringing them to trial and for punishment to be inflicted,” Prof Camilleri says.
“The tribunal set up for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Now the International Criminal Court is doing it for little countries, when they are found guilty of war crimes.”
“When it comes to the United States, China and Russia, it is very. very hard to do.”
