Euromaidan SOS Appeal to State Authorities of Ukraine

ON ADMISSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT INVESTIGATORS TO UKRAINE

Representatives of the civil society in Ukraine welcome the opening of a full-fledged investigation into the situation in Ukraine by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the referral of the situation to the ICC by an unprecedented number of States parties to the Rome Statute.

Given Ukraine’s recognition of the ICC jurisdiction over the crimes committed in the Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity and during the occupation of Crimea and the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine, the ICC will now be well positioned to investigate and subsequently prosecute those most responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC involvement in the investigation of the situation in Ukraine will enable additional resources of the authoritative international court to be involved in the development of cases against those most responsible for committing international crimes.

Although the ICC will not be able to prosecute Russian Federation officials for the crime of aggression, it will still play a vital role in preventing impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine since November 2013.

Even as of today, the ICC has already played an outstanding role in reinforcing the international legal position of Ukraine by recognizing the international legal nature of the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine and the fact of the Crimea occupation.

At the same time, despite the widespread belief among some circles, the ICC will not assume the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian courts and will not replace them. It will be involved only in those cases where Ukraine is unable or cannot carry out the efficient pre-trial or judicial investigation.

Therefore, it is extremely important to continue the dialogue and comprehensive interaction with the ICC which began back in 2014. Investigators of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor should have the greatest cooperation with the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s offices and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where possible.

At the same time, we once again call for the urgent ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.