A special team from the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee has traveled to Ukraine twice this year. There, the so-called FO team investigated alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Netherlands is leading the way in this, but would like other countries to follow suit, says detachment commander Angelo Wouters in a conversation with NU.nl.
Wat is het FO-team?
- Het forensisch en opsporingsteam is een speciaal team van de Koninklijke Marechaussee.
- Het onderzoekt onder de vlag van het ICC vermeende Russische oorlogsmisdrijven in Oekraïne.
- Het team bestaat uit ongeveer veertig mensen, waaronder militairen, forensische en digitale onderzoekers en wapenexperts.
- In Oekraïne deed het onder meer forensisch onderzoek, verzamelde het digitale informatie van telefoons en computers, en onderzocht het munitieresten.
- Het FO-team verzamelt bewijs, maar wijst geen dader aan. Het ICC bepaalt of er een zaak komt.
- In 2023 staan twee nieuwe missies in Oekraïne gepland, in het voor- en najaar.
Why has the Netherlands in particular responded to the ICC’s call to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the Russians in Ukraine?
“The Netherlands has said that war crimes should never go unpunished. We want to contribute to this in this way. As Marechaussee, we are responsible for conducting the investigation, under the banner of the ICC. It is an all-Dutch team for this mission. state.”
Didn’t other countries offer to help or take over? There are now months between missions, because Holland is the only one to do this.
“This is a critical note that I want to make. I am proud that the Netherlands is making this contribution to not let war crimes go unpunished. It is a shame to see that we now have no transfers to other countries.”
“As the Netherlands, we made an extra effort, in May and between mid-October and early December. This effort is now missing in Ukraine until spring 2023, while the need remains. There could be thousands of crime scenes in the country where you can investigate can do.”
And as long as the war lasts, more places will be added. Should the Netherlands or the CPI appeal to other countries more fervently?
As a matter of fact there is no sequel. I hope that more countries will participate, to which we can transfer our working method and our experience”.
“The ICC sees our way of working in Ukraine as pioneering work. Now there is a project that other countries can use. You can compare it to climbing a mountain. We were the first to reach the top and we blazed a trail that other countries can follow”.
How did you prepare?
“We used to do this kind of research in the Netherlands, but now it was done in an active war zone. It was pioneering work. The work could not have been predicted, we had no idea what exactly awaited us in Ukraine.”
“What exactly you can do also changes as the conflict unfolds. Naturally, we had discussions with the ICC where the greatest need for our research was. But we could not have predicted in advance that we would also help with recovery and return of bodies.”
How was your job?
“Besides Kyiv, we have been active in Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava oblasts. Each oblast is slightly smaller than the Netherlands, so we covered a large area.”
“In the Kiev morgue, we examined the bodies that had come from prison camps. Then we went to oblasts that had recently returned to Ukrainian control. We had police escorts there as well and further support from Ukraine.”
Did you feel insecure while working?
“The space to move and the comfort in Ukraine is much less than in the Netherlands. This is the biggest difference between our normal activities and those in Ukraine.”
“But we felt safe under almost all circumstances. Even in areas close to the border with Russia. From time to time we heard shelling in the distance and often went off air alerts.”
“Like everyone else in the country, you run a risk there. In large parts of the country, there are explosives that haven’t exploded yet. That’s why there are trained experts in the team, so we can do our job safely.”
What are the chances that your investigation will lead to a prosecution?
“It is up to us to objectively investigate and seek the truth. But ultimately it is up to the International Criminal Court to prosecute.”
“We provide the pieces of the puzzle by doing the research that requires certain specialists. We give those pieces of the puzzle to the ICC, which is constantly baffling. It is up to the ICC to bring the entire burden of proof to the court.”
Rusland en het ICC
- De kans is klein dat er ooit Russen voor het ICC verschijnen voor oorlogsmisdrijven.
- Rusland stapte in november 2016 uit het ICC en erkent het hof sindsdien niet meer. Het levert ook geen staatsburgers uit voor vervolging.
- Human Rights Watch en Amnesty International concludeerden al dat Russische militairen stelselmatig oorlogsmisdaden hebben gepleegd in Oekraïne.
- Dat heeft tot nu toe geleid tot enkele veroordelingen in Oekraïne van Russische militairen. Russische kopstukken blijven vooralsnog buiten schot.
- Ook de Verenigde Naties kunnen Rusland nog niet vervolgen voor oorlogsmisdrijven. Als permanent lid van de Veiligheidsraad heeft Rusland vetorecht.
Do circumstances in Ukraine affect you?
“We are all human. We have seen with our own eyes how whole villages have been wiped out. We have still seen the trenches. Obviously there is emotion in this, but it also reminds us why and for whom we are doing it.”
“The difference we can make for the innocent victims is very valuable to us. This also affects the hundreds of thousands of people who have to make it through the winter without electricity and running water.”
Are people grateful for your work?
“We were greeted with great warmth and gratitude. We often received high fives and boxing from people. They offered us drinks, while they themselves had nothing left.”
“People who came to see immediately realized that we are from the Netherlands. You are also visible as a researcher from the ICC. For the Ukrainians it was an acknowledgment and support that we were just walking there.”
