The international community on Wednesday added pressure to hold Russia accountable for crimes against humanity in Ukraine, days before the one-year anniversary of its invasion of that country.
Foreign ministers of multiple United Nations member states condemned aggression in Ukraine and accused Moscow of abducting children, systematically killing Ukrainian residents and destroying civilian residences.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said Russia was "systematically abducting Ukrainian children"; International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan was just as blunt.
"I have seen the body bags," he told a high-level UN meeting focused on gross human rights violations due to the aggression against Ukraine.
Malta currently chairs the United Nations Security Council – the UN’s top table – and will on Friday host a Security Council session focused on discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine, which officially began on February 24, 2022.
With Russia wielding veto powers within the Security Council, no resolution is expected during Friday’s session. Instead, the UN is expected to pass a resolution condemning the invasion and calling for lasting peace in Ukraine during an emergency session of its general assembly to be held later on Wednesday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg is expected to be among the speakers during that session. Malta has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war of aggression, noting that it is in violation of the UN Charter.
Borg’s counterparts from the Netherlands, Canada, Estonia and Guatemala were among those to highlight human rights violations in Ukraine on Wednesday morning.
Where is the UN Secretary-General?- Delegate
Conspicuous by his absence, however, was UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, who did not appear despite being listed as a keynote speaker.
His absence did not go unnoticed: “Where is the UN secretary general?” one delegate called at the end of the session. “This is about a violation of the UN Charter.”
Also missing from the discussion was a Russian representative.
Ukraine pushes for special tribunal
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dymtro Kuleba spoke, reiterating his call for a special tribunal to try war criminals involved in Russia’s invasion of the country.
“Russia felt it could get away with all of this,” Kuleba told a high-level UN meeting
“This aggression boils down to impunity,” Kuleba told the meeting. “The solution also boils down to one word,” he said. “Justice.”
Apart from ending the invasion, Russia’s political and military leadership must face justice, he said.
Both Russia and the USA have been raising their diplomatic voices in the run-up to the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Days ago, Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the START nuclear treaty – the last major nuclear control treaty that is still in force – and on Tuesday he announced that Chinese president Xi Jinping would visit Moscow in the coming weeks.
Washington D.C. has also been active. US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv for a first time since the war began last week, in a surprise and highly secretive trip. He followed that up with a visit to Polish capital Warsaw, where he delivered a speech vowing that “our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided and we will not tire."
Kuleba’s call for a special tribunal to try Russia and its leaders for aggression in Ukraine is not a new one.
Our citizens are being killed in their homes, hospitals, and theatres- First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska
The Ukrainian politician first made that proposal in December during a meeting of the OSCE. MEPs have since backed it through a European Parliament resolution calling for the EU to help Ukraine to pressure the international community into setting up such a tribunal.
In theory, the crime could be tried at the International Criminal Court, established 25 years ago to prosecute such cases. But while the ICC launched an investigation into Russia’s aggression last year, Russia does not recognize the international court, stymying its ability to act in this case.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested creating a form of UN-sanctioned “hybrid international court” that could try Russia – and its political leaders – for the invasion.
In a recorded message broadcast at the start of Wednesday’s high-level UN meeting, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska described events in Ukraine as “genocide”.
“Our citizens are being killed in their homes, hospitals, and theatres,” she said as she showed photos of razed Ukrainian cities.
One image showed mass graves at Bucha; another compared the 80,000-strong city of Bakhmut before the war to its current state, a hollow settlement of just 5,000.