Joe Biden
A US official stated on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden has directed his government to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Pentagon had been opposed to the proposal, quietly arguing that any collaboration with the court may lead to politicized prosecution of American troops stationed abroad.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), a permanent war crimes tribunal, issued an arrest order for Putin in March for the suspected deportation of children from Ukraine, which would be a war crime.
The White House refused to disclose the specifics of any potential collaboration with the ICC.
“Since the start of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the president has been clear: there must be accountability for the perpetrators and enablers of war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine”, a spokesperson for the National Security Council stated.
“On the ICC specifically, we are not going to discuss the specifics of any cooperation, which is consistent with the court’s practice of treating requests for cooperation in a confidential manner”, the spokesperson continued.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers have accused the Pentagon of impeding Russia’s war crimes prosecution by preventing the sharing of US military intelligence with the ICC.
Russia is not a member of the International Criminal Court and opposes its jurisdiction. It denies any atrocities that occurred during its conflict with Ukraine.
The United States is not a member of the ICC either.
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