OTTAWA (CU)_The International Criminal Court, commonly known known as the ICC, is an international tribunal located in The Hague, Netherlands. It was established to assist in investigations involving international crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have long had officers assigned to the court. Canada’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino revealed on Monday (28 March) that the government has decided to send a team of RCMP investigators to the ICC upon the request of the tribunal.
During an interview, the Minister said the team will depart to The Hague to gather evidence on potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to battle Moscow’s growing aggression in the country. “As we see human casualties pile up and the scale and size of this humanitarian crisis grow alarmingly, it is important that we hold those who are committing the atrocities responsible, and that is why Canada is making a significant contribution to the International Criminal Court’s investigation into war crimes in Ukraine,” Minister Mendicino said, adding that the RCMP officers will be part of teams of ICC investigators who will compile evidence that is aimed to be used to prosecute Moscow for its involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“It is essential that we preserve the record of what happened and what is happening in Ukraine in real time,” he added.
British lawyer Karim Khan, who is the chief prosecutor of the ICC said there are grounds to believe that Russia has carried out war crimes against Ukrainian civilians since its invasion of the country on 24 February. If evidence of such crimes is discovered, he would request judges of the court to issue arrest warrants for individual Russians, who will be brought to trial in The Hague.
