Tribunal is needed – Zelenskyy on responsibility for crime of aggression against Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his support for the creation of a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and noted that there are 37 states in the group of countries that demand punishment of the aggressor.
“Our justice must prove international unity in fairness, as it was in Nuremberg. Unfortunately, the International Criminal Court, whose work we fully support, does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. That is why the Tribunal is needed - to complement the global legal system,” he said in Kyiv on Tuesday, speaking via video link at an online summit of state leaders - Core Group for the creation of a special tribunal.
“I am pleased to announce that our joint group working to punish the aggressor - our Core Group - already includes thirty-seven states. And this number will continue to grow - we are constantly working to make our coalition of defenders of justice bigger,” he also said.
Zelenskyy reminded that “this summer, the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Russian Aggression will start its work in The Hague. This will be a practical step in the processing of evidence for the Tribunal. So, we are moving forward, moving step by step.”
According to the president, “we can discuss what the model of the Special Tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine should be in order to achieve the main goal – justice … But once again I emphasize that this must be a Tribunal.”
Speaking of the Nuremberg Tribunal, Zelenskyy noted that “the main culprit of that catastrophe did not make it to the Tribunal. He carried out an obvious sentence for himself in the bunker.”
“But his accomplices - including the key figures of the aggression - were punished in the legal sphere. They were punished the way humanity punishes any criminals in a civilized manner - through prosecution, trial, sentence and its implementation. And this has served as a strong pillar of peace - a concrete example of how peace violators were punished by the whole world,” he stated.
