Russian troops are raping women as they rampage across Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister claimed today.
Dmytro Kuleba accused Vladimir Putin ’s forces of committing sex attacks as they invaded cities. He said there were “numerous” cases of women being targeted.
Speaking to the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank via a video link, he said: “When bombs fall on your cities, when soldiers rape women in the occupied cities – and we have numerous cases of, unfortunately, when Russian soldiers rape women in Ukrainian cities – it’s difficult of course to speak about the efficiency of international law.
“But this is the only tool of civilisation that is available to us, to make sure that in the end, eventually, all those who made this war possible will be brought to justice, and the Russian Federation, as a country that committed an act of aggression, will be held accountable for its deeds.”
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie teamed up with then Foreign Secretary William Hague in 2014 to raise awareness of how rape was used as weapon of war.
The pair hosted aN End Sexual Violence in Conflict global summit in London, bringing together officials from more than 100 countries.
Mr Hague said at the time: “This is a subject that the world did not want to talk about for a long time. “We have moved a long way in the last two years in getting the world to talk about what was a taboo subject, and now we have to follow it with action.”
Gordon Brown, who spoke at the same event, called for Vladimir Putin to face a Nuremberg-style war crimes tribunal.
The former Prime Minister said the Russian premier should be held to account for atrocities committed as his forces invade Ukraine.
Writing exclusively for the Mirror, he said: “I call on all European countries who believe that aggression must never pay to support the creation of this tribunal so that justice is done by the embattled people of Ukraine and justice can be seen to be done by them.
The ex-Labour leader also addressed the Chatham House think-tank panel, where he insisted putting Putin in the dock was “a realistic option”.
He added: “This act of aggression by Russia, deplored in the strongest terms this week by the UN General Assembly, cannot go uninvestigated, unprosecuted and unpunished.
“But there is a serious gap in international law. Since Russia is not party to the statute of the International Criminal Court, this crime of aggression cannot, as things stands, be investigated by the prosecutor.”
Moscow pulled out of the ICC in 2016.
Charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide can be brought against Russia even though it is not a signatory.
However, the crime of aggression cannot be prosecuted against people from a non-ICC state – unless the UN Security Council makes a referral.
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That cannot happen because Russia is one of the Council’s five permanent members and has a veto.
Even if Putin was charged, he would need to be arrested by a state that is signed up to the ICC – so if he never left Russia he would be highly unlikely to be arrested.
But Mr Brown said that trying Putin was “a realistic option”.
International human rights QC Philippe Sands todl Chatham House: “When Charles de Gaulle an dothers met in London in january 1942 it must have been unimaginable that ever Nazi leaders like Hermon Goerring and others would find themselves in the dock, and yet three years later that is what happened.”
He added: “Who knows? But it’s not impossible.”
Speaking to the think-tank via video link from what appeared to be a vehicle in Kyiv, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that while Ukraine was “fighting against an enemy much stronger than us, we have international law on our side”.
Backing the tribunal, he added: “This is the only tool of civilisation that is available to us, to make sure that in the end, eventually, all those who made this war possible will be brought to justice, and the Russian Federation, as a country that committed an act of aggression, will be held accountable for its deeds.”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said Putin risked ending up in prison.
Asked whether he saw the conflict ending with the Russian president “imprisoned for war crimes”, he said: “I think it is a very real risk that he must now contemplate.
“Beyond his personal situation, every commander operating in Ukraine, or indeed Moscow, when they are faced with illegal orders, whether it is to target civilians or otherwise, attack illegal or unlawful sites, they now know the ICC is investigating and the chief prosecutor Karim Khan is, I believe, travelling to Ukraine.
“They must now know that they face the very real risk of ending up in the dock of a court and, ultimately, in a prison if they follow through on those illegal, unlawful orders.” (Mirrow UK)
