This photo taken last September shows unidentified graves of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers in the town of Izium after the graves were opened and the dead brought out for identification and registration. Archive photo: Jevhen Maloletka / AP / NTB
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4. mars 2023 17:36 – Updated March 4, 2023 5:37 p.m
The head of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, says that an agreement which in the long term means being able to hold Russia responsible for war crimes has been signed.
– Russia must be held accountable for its crimes, says von der Leyen in a video speech to participants at an international conference in Ukrainian Lviv this weekend.
In the video speech, von der Leyen announced that an agreement on the creation of an international center to coordinate the investigation of war crimes was signed on Saturday.
The ICPA center will be located in The Hague in the Netherlands and will be linked to Eurojust, the EU’s body for criminal justice cooperation. The center will contribute to the collection and securing of evidence that can be used in future legal proceedings.
There is increasing evidence that Russian attacks are aimed directly at civilians and at energy supplies and other infrastructure in Ukraine, von der Leyen points out.
– Torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence and summary executions have been committed by Russian forces. Even children have not been spared, she says in the video speech on Saturday.
The International Criminal Court, which is also located in The Hague, is already investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The court can prosecute genocide in Ukraine, but cannot convict Russia of any war crimes there.
