Crimes against humanity: The prosecutor in The Hague will investigate Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Karim A. A. Khan QC will investigate the crimes in Ukraine. He qualifies the actions of the occupier as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Karim A. A. Khan QC stated: “I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine in relation to the events already assessed during the preliminary examination by the Office. Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my Office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine”.

The chief prosecutor noted that he would continue to closely follow the developments in Ukraine and called for restraint and strict adherence to the applicable rules of international humanitarian law.

He added: “I have already tasked my team to explore all evidence preservation opportunities. The next step is to proceed with the process of seeking and obtaining authorisation from the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court to open an investigation. An alternative route set out in the Statute that could further expedite matters would be for an ICC State Party to refer the situation to my Office, which would allow us to actively and immediately proceed with the Office's independent and objective investigations”.

Recall that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Karim A. A. Khan QC has confirmed that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with opening an investigation of Russia’s war crimes committed in Ukraine.