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The Ukrainian Minister of Justice, Denys Maliuskahas asked its international allies for support on Monday to create a compensation Fund nourished with Russian assets that will eventually make it possible to repair the damage caused in their country by the russian invasion.
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Maliuska made the appeal during a conference of justice ministers organized by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to seek financial and other support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), located in the Dutch city of The Hague.
At the start of the session in London, British Justice Minister Dominic Raab highlighted the “historic” moment that the ICC marked by issuing an arrest warrant for war crimes against Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday.
In his turn to speak, his Ukrainian counterpart added that the occasion was at the same time “tragic”, since it showed that “the president of a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council can be a war criminal”.
Maliuska praised the work of the tribunal, whose jurisdiction Kiev recognizes although it has not ratified its statutes, but stressed the need for the international community to support Ukraine in its own, separate project to “create a financial compensation fund for damage caused.” in the conflict.
“There are many people who have suffered significant damage, they have lost family members, their homes, their jobs, infrastructure has been destroyed… The entire country has been semi-destroyed by Russian activities and these damages must be compensated,” stated.
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“Apart from the work of the ICC, we contemplate the creation of a compensation fund to pay for those damages”he declared before representatives of more than 40 countries.
The first step, a registry to compile those bugs, “is already underway,” he said.
The next would be the constitution of “the compensation commission and the compensation fund through Russian assets,” he said.
The Ukrainian minister insisted that the success of that fund “depends” on the help they receive from countries that have applied sanctions on Russia and have access to its assets.
“It is very important for us because after the war, after our victory, we will have a broken country, we will need to make Ukraine prosperous, and that will require significant repairs.”he declared.
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Although a UN General Assembly resolution calls for Russia to pay compensation to Ukraine for the destruction caused by the war, it is not binding and there is no clear mechanism to get it to do so.
On the one hand, the ICC does not have jurisdiction to try a possible crime of aggression in this case -since neither Russia nor Ukraine are members-, which could lead to compensation, and on the other, there is no consensus at the moment on how to channel the income derived from Russian assets, although the European Commission is considering a proposal.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said during the conference that, despite everything, “the crime of aggression should not be allowed to go unpunished.”
“In this regard, I request your support for the idea of establishing an international tribunal for the investigation and prosecution of the crime of aggression, which is a crime of leadership,” said Kostin, referring to an initiative that is also supported by the European Commission.
During the conference this Monday in London, attended by the Spanish Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, the participating States will specify their contributions to improve the capacity of the ICC and in particular its investigation into war crimes committed in Ukraine.
After the presentations, a press conference is expected at 17:30 GMT.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
