The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has called for an “all-encompassing strategy” to prosecute war crimes in Ukraine. “The simple truth is that as we speak, children, women and men, old and young, live in terror,” Khan said at the opening of a Ukraine conference in The Hague. “They are suffering in Ukraine and in so many different parts of the world. Mourning for what they lost yesterday, holding their breath for what they might lose today and what tomorrow may bring. In times like these, the law cannot be a spectator.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra reiterated the need for a common strategy. In view of the reports of rape, murder and torture, action is required. EU Commissioner Didier Reynders spoke of a “huge task” which requires a strong judicial system in Ukraine. More than 30 ministers and prosecutors from Europe and other Western countries are meeting in The Hague to discuss joint strategies for prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine .
The conference was convened by the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. After the first reports of alleged war crimes after the Russian invasion on February 24, the International Criminal Court opened an investigation and sent the largest team of investigators to date to the war zone. The judiciary in Ukraine claims to be investigating more than 15,000 suspected cases.