“International criminal law works”
Baerbock: Arrest warrant restricts Putin’s freedom to travel
07/17/2023, 6:25 p.m
Foreign Minister Baerbock complains about a “gap in international law”. Because not all heads of state who wage aggressive wars can be accused. Baerbock recognizes that the work of the International Criminal Court is still having an effect from the Russian President’s trips.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has described the war of aggression against Ukraine launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “primal crime”. During a visit to New York, the Green politician demanded that everything be done to hold the Kremlin chief accountable. One experiences that Putin does not even stop at the weakest people, “the children, but includes them in his war of annihilation in a brutal way.”
Baerbock spoke before a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The minister accused Putin of kidnapping children from Ukraine and depriving them of their identities so that it would be as difficult as possible for their parents to bring them back.
That’s why it’s “so important that we clearly state that we have a gap in international law.” Ironically, when it comes to the “primal crime” of a war of aggression, there is a loophole in that heads of state and government who waged such wars cannot all be accused. This applies in particular if their states have not ratified the Rome Statute as the legal basis for the ICC.
Baerbock insists on “peace through justice”
The ceremony was therefore “for me also an assignment to further develop international criminal law,” said Baerbock. “Because in the 21st century no one can wage aggressive war and go unpunished.” The arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Putin in March, in particular for the kidnapping, is an important sign. He “underlines that this brutal war of aggression is being waged first and foremost against the weakest and that the international community is particularly listening to the weakest, children first of all”.
The arrest warrant meant that Putin did not travel to any country that had ratified the court’s statute. “And it also made it clear that international criminal law works,” said Baerbock. “Peace through justice. That is the strength the international community is holding against Russia’s brutal war of aggression.”