The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, but the warrant is unenforceable – for now.
The ICC in The Hague announced that President Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Alekseyevna are subject to arrest warrants and both face charges of war crimes related to the transfer of people, including children, from Ukraine to Russia.
ICC president President Judge Piotr Hofmanski issued a statement in the warrants on Friday, stating, “international law prohibits for occupying powers the transfer of civilians from the territory where they live to other territories.
“Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention,” he added, noting that the details of the victims were kept secret to protect them but noted that the judges in the case decided to make the warrants public to avoid the commission of crimes in the future.
Hofmański added that while the ICC ordered the arrests, the execution of the warrants depended on “international cooperation.”
Visions of ‘Justice’: Ukraine Wants Tanks in Moscow, Estonia Talks ‘Nuremberg Trials’ For Russian Leadershttps://t.co/eQ2Qo3bmv8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 21, 2023
The execution of warrants is likely to be difficult under the current circumstances as Russia, while initially a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 2000, the country. withdraw from ICC recognition in November of 2016.
Ukraine, where the crimes allegedly occurred, also does not recognize the ICC’s authority because it has signed the Rome Statute but it was never adoptedeven President Volodymyr Zelensky said in 2019 that the ratification is a priority.
It remains unclear how the arrest warrants will be enforced at present but in the case of regime change in Russia, the country may change its recognition of the ICC.
A precedent for such a move was seen in previous war crimes trials, such as the trial of former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, who was the first sitting head of state to be indicted for war crimes in 1999, a year before his ouster in 2000.
Minister Trudeau admits that the Goal is Regime Change in Russiahttps://t.co/XKto5Lz5eH
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 14, 2023
Regime change in Russia is stated as the ultimate goal of the Canadian government regarding the Ukrainian conflict by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly earlier this week.
“We see how much we are isolating the Russian regime now — because we have to do it economically, politically and diplomatically — and what the effects are also on society, and how much we see the potential for regime change. in Russia,” said Joly.
“The goal is certainly to do that, is to weaken Russia’s ability to launch a very difficult attack against Ukraine. We also want to make sure that Putin and his enablers are held accountable,” he added.
Others, including President Joe Biden, also mentioned regime change in Russia but in President Biden’s case, the comments were later walked back by administration officials.
Some world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have outright rejected call for the overthrow of the Russian government.
“Let’s be clear, I don’t believe for one second in regime change, and when I hear a lot of people asking for regime change, I ask them, ‘What is the change for? Who is next? Who is your leader?” said Macron.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.