news
Despite an arrest warrant against him issued by the Hague-based court for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children following his troops’ 2022 invasion, the Russian leader travelled to Ulaanbaatar in early September.
The International Criminal Court referred the case for additional action on Thursday after accusing member state Mongolia of neglecting to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin while on a visit there last month.
Despite an arrest warrant against him issued by the Hague-based court for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children following his troops’ 2022 invasion, the Russian leader travelled to Ulaanbaatar in early September.
According to an ICC statement, “The International Criminal Court determined that Mongolia has not complied with the Court’s request to cooperate by failing to arrest Mr. Putin while he was on its territory and turn him over to the Court.”
All signatories to the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, require nations to detain wanted criminals.
“Regardless of official position or nationality, State Parties and those accepting the Court’s jurisdiction are duty-bound to arrest and surrender individuals subject to ICC warrants,” the ICC’s judges declared.
Referring to the ICC’s oversight body, the judges stated, “The Chamber deemed it necessary to refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties due to the seriousness of Mongolia’s failure to cooperate with the Court.”
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin.
Putin “bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia, according to the report, which cited “reasonable grounds to believe” in this claim.
Following Russian forces’ 2022 invasion of large areas of Ukraine, Kyiv claims thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly deported from orphanages and other state institutions.
For their own safety, Russia reportedly relocated a few kids from areas near the fighting.
The trip to Mongolia was Putin’s first visit to an ICC member in the 18 months since the warrant was issued, although Moscow has rejected it as meaning nothing.
Following pressure from both inside and outside Pretoria to arrest the Russian leader if he attended a BRICS summit in South Africa, another ICC member, last year, he cancelled his trip.
When ICC members have failed to carry out arrest warrants in the past, the only real repercussions have been verbal dressing-downs.