International Criminal Court in crisis as Russia walks out

RUSSIA has withdrawn all support for the International Criminal Court after its prosecutors said Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea could be classified as an act of war.

Vladimir Putin signed an executive order withdrawing Russia’s signature from the 2000 Rome Statute, which established the ICC to prosecute war crimes, citing “dissatisfaction” with the body’s “one-sided and inefficient” work.

“The court did not live up to the hopes associated with it and did not become truly independent,” Russia’s foreign ministry said yesterday. “It is revealing that in its 14 years of work the ICC has pronounced just four verdicts and spent over $1 billion.”

The ministry said it had lost trust in the court over its handling of an investigation into the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, saying that it had not properly investigated alleged Georgian crimes.

Human rights groups including Amnesty Interna- tional condemned the move, which came on the opening day of the general assembly of ICC member states, as “completely cynical”.

The ICC’s office of the prosecutor earlier said that the situation in Crimea “amounts to an international armed conflict” between Ukraine and Russia.

Russia is also under pressure over its role in Syria, where Western governments say it has committed war crimes by bombing civilians.

When it was established in 2002, the International Criminal Court became the first permanent institution able to bring to book the genocidal warlords who would previously have evaded justice. From the outset, the ICC was beset with difficulties, principally caused by the refusal of many countries, including the United States and China, to recognise its jurisdiction. However, more than 120 states did sign up; and to date the ICC has issued 39 indictments and concluded proceedings against 17 individuals, of whom three have been convicted. Preliminary investigations are taking place over 10 other conflict situations.

This may turn out to be the high watermark of the ICC after Russia yesterday withdrew its support for the Rome Treaty that underpins the court’s writ in protest at an investigation into alleged atrocities in Georgia. Moscow’s move follows recent decisions by South Africa, Gambia and Burundi to pull out, accusing the court of bias against Africa. Born of a noble ideal, the ICC would appear to be in serious difficulties. But equally, with Russia cranking up for further military action in Syria, its action cannot be an excuse to carry out war crimes there.

With support for the ICC crumbling, the rationale for pursuing British soldiers for what appear to be spurious allegations of abuse committed in Iraq is also diminishing. The Iraq Historic Allegations Team was set up apparently to avoid an investigation by the ICC, which would step in only if there were clear evidence of systemic abuse. This has not materialised. Hunting war criminals is one thing; pursuing soldiers for carrying out their duty on the basis of unfounded and malicious allegations is quite another.