Putin will pay, in some way, for his crimes against humanity

As Russian forces mass for a renewed assault on Ukraine, a noose grows steadily tighter around the neck of Vladimir Putin. From the onset of hostilities, there were widespread reports of atrocities by Russian soldiers. Those reports have been confirmed.

Warning: The following paragraphs contain details of atrocities.

A year ago, the UN, in part at the pressing of the Canadian government, appointed a commission to investigate war crimes in Ukraine. Ottawa dispatched a team of specialized RCMP officers to assist in gathering evidence.

The commission has reported that “an array of war crimes, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have been committed in Ukraine.”

Civilian buildings, including more than 1,000 schools and hospitals, have been bombed in the capital city of Kyiv and other centres.

In the city of Bucha, numerous mass graves have been uncovered, revealing the bodies of civilians who had been tortured then murdered, often savagely. At one burial site, 436 bodies were exhumed.

Some of the women, along with children as young as four, had been raped before being slaughtered, in some cases with family members forced to watch.

Although Putin has denied these allegations, autopsies carried out by medical staff at various sites confirm the findings.

So if war crimes have indeed been committed, can Putin and other senior members of his regime be brought to trial?

That officers and soldiers in the field could face prosecution is a strong possibility. If men who took part in, or tolerated, atrocities can be arrested by Ukrainian authorities, they could very well be tried before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

And, indeed, the UN commission appears to contemplate this. It has appealed for efforts to bring justice to the victims, and has promised to identify those responsible.

But what about the higher-ups, such as Putin and his colleagues?

In the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War, several senior Nazi officials, such as foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, were tried, convicted and hanged, despite having taken no direct part in atrocities.

They were held complicit by virtue of the leading role they played in the Nazi regime.

So yes, there is a precedent for opening criminal proceedings against members of the Russian hierarchy.

There are difficulties to overcome. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. Nor, for that matter, is the U.S., though Canada is.

Again, the ICC is forbidden by its charter from conducting trials in absentia, except in special circumstances which are at best poorly defined.

And, of course, it appears a near certainty that neither Putin nor his chief lieutenants, if charged, would voluntarily appear before the ICC.

That would not prevent charges being brought against them, and it would put them at risk of being arrested if they ventured outside the country.

Nevertheless, it may in fact be possible to proceed with a criminal trial, even in absentia.

In 2007, the UN established a Special Tribunal to investigate a bomb attack in Lebanon that killed a former Lebanese prime minister.

Several members of the militant group Hezbollah were tried for their part in the bombing, convicted and, in one case, sentenced to five life terms in jail.

The trial was conducted in absentia, as none of the defendants could be brought before the court.

If the government of Ukraine requested the formation of a UN tribunal to investigate the role of Putin and other senior officials, this precedent could be used.

For its part, the government of Canada has promised to be “relentless in our efforts to hold Putin and his accomplices accountable for their war crimes in Ukraine. We are supportive of all efforts aimed at ensuring that those complicit in these atrocious crimes … are held accountable and confronted with the full force of the law.”

By one means or another, then, it does appear that Vladimir Putin will pay for his war crimes, if not in blood, then in worldwide vilification.

That is the end to which this murderous dictator has brought himself and, in the process, has blackened the reputation of his country.