Foreign Minister Baerbock accuses the kidnapping of children from the Ukraine as a means in the Russian war of aggression. Germany has a special responsibility to ensure that the Russian President can be held accountable.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin be held accountable for the “primal crime” of a war of aggression against Ukraine.
Putin doesn’t even stop at the weakest people, “the children,” but includes them in his war of annihilation in a brutal way, said the Green politician at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Baerbock denounces Putin “Inhumanity” at
Before the UN Security Council, Baerbock called for an international effort to bring the abducted children back to their parents. “Despite all the differences, one conviction should be beyond question: the deported children belong to their parents,” she said. “The horror of the deported Ukrainian children is the tip of the iceberg of the unspeakable suffering that the war has brought to so many children around the world.”
“Ever since I found out about these crimes, I can’t stop imagining how I would feel if these children were my own two young daughters,” Baerbock said. She knows that her colleagues from Africa, Asia and Latin America feel the same way.
Even if not everyone in the group agrees on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine: “Humanity is what unites us.” She added: “When an attacker doesn’t even stop at children, the tragedy turns into horrific inhumanity.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke of barbaric crimes in the Security Council. “Russia is trying to erase Ukrainian identity and cultural history and is using children as a weapon of war,” he said.
Baerbock: Arrest warrant against Putin important sign
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Putin and Russia’s child rights commissioner Maria Lvowa-Belowa for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. They are allegedly responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children and minors from occupied territories to Russia. In this context, Moscow speaks of evacuations.
The arrest warrant issued by the ICC in March 2023 against Putin was an important sign, praised Baerbock.
Baerbock wants reform of international law
In New York, the Federal Foreign Minister renewed her proposal for a reform of the Rome Statute – she wants to change it in such a way that the offense of aggressive war can also be prosecuted without restriction. It should be sufficient if the victim state of an aggression falls under the jurisdiction of the court. Currently, only the UN Security Council can refer the case to the court, as neither Russia nor Ukraine are contracting parties. As a permanent member, Russia has a right of veto in the Security Council. The majority needed for a reform is therefore not in sight.
Baerbock again supported the proposal to hold the Russian leadership accountable for the aggressive war against Ukraine by means of a special tribunal. Such a tribunal should be based on Ukrainian law. International elements could include a location abroad, international judges and prosecutors, and a supporting UN General Assembly resolution.
bipartisan Approval for Baerbock advance
Baerbock’s initiative to hold the perpetrators of aggressive wars accountable met with cross-party approval in Germany as well. “So far, the criminal offense of the crime of aggression has not been recorded by the International Criminal Court,” said CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter to the editorial network Germany (RND). “It is therefore good that the Foreign Minister is working on this in parallel with the prosecution of Russia’s war crimes against Ukraine.”
The Greens chairman in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, Jürgen Trittin, told the RND: “It cannot be that one can avoid being charged with crimes of aggression against states, such as we are currently experiencing through Russia in Ukraine, if the relevant additional protocol has not been signed.”
The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also agreed with Baerbock: “It is a question of justice towards the victims that criminals do not get away scot-free.”