44 states supported establishment of tribunal for Russia for crimes against Ukraine and freezing of Russian assets
44 states signed a political declaration at the conference "Restoring Justice for Ukraine" held in The Hague. The document expresses support for the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression and initiatives to use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, as well as by the government of the Netherlands, Censor.NET reports.
Who signed the document
The final document was signed by Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Britain and the United States.
In total, 57 countries participated in the conference.
What is it about
In the declaration, the countries condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine as a flagrant violation of the international legal order and recall the UN court's decision of 16 March 2022, which ordered Russia to cease hostilities.
They call for increased joint efforts to ensure proper investigation and accountability for all violations of international law committed during Russia's war against Ukraine, including the crime of aggression.
The document states that the countries "remain committed to the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine". The signatories also welcomed the offer of the Netherlands to host such a special tribunal.
In addition, the countries assure that Russia's sovereign assets in their jurisdictions will remain frozen until Russia stops its aggression against Ukraine and pays for the damage it has caused.
What does this mean
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noted that two years ago, the idea of creating a special tribunal was "categorically rejected by everyone", and a year ago, he said, it seemed that the work on it was "mired in disputes between states".
Now, however, Kuleba is confident that the countries will be able to find "all the necessary solutions and implement the tribunal."
"We need to make one more push to make it happen," he stressed.
