A court spells out what鈥檚 at stake in Ukraine
On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a key aide for their role in the taking of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war a year ago. Mr. Putin does not deny that the children were taken, that they are being taught Russian, and that they will be adopted by Russians. Rather, the Kremlin claims the children were taken for safety from the fighting.
But, says ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, Mr. Putin must be tried for the abduction of聽 children across borders 鈥� a war crime. 鈥淭he evidence will tell a different story,鈥� he told a conference in London on Monday. He asked Moscow to repatriate the聽children and let them learn their own language in their own schools and not be adopted 鈥渂y strangers.鈥�
鈥淭he quite important elements of the offense are accepted by the individuals concerned,鈥� he said.
The arrest warrants are a direct challenge to Mr. Putin鈥檚 notion that Ukraine has long been united with Russia by 鈥渂lood ties,鈥� or, as one people forming a special civilization with its own values rising from factors like language, ethnicity, and race.
The ICC, as well as Ukraine鈥檚 government, insists that Mr. Putin abide by values in international law. 鈥淭he world needs a real embodiment of the rule of law, which is guaranteed to protect humanity from the 鈥榬ight of force鈥� 鈥� from the source or all aggressions,鈥� Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit the forced transfer of people from occupied territories like those in eastern Ukraine under Russian control. Children, Mr. Khan said, 鈥渃an鈥檛 be treated as spoils of war.鈥澛�
The ICC is not the only body challenging Russia鈥檚 rejection of universal justice. In an emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly last month, 141 nations backed a resolution demanding that Mr. Putin withdraw his forces from Ukraine and international laws be observed.
鈥淚f we can鈥檛 show that international justice can play a role [in Ukraine] when the world seems on a precipice 鈥� and I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 hyperbole 鈥� then there will be no confidence in international institutions,鈥� Mr. Khan told The Times of London.
The warrants mark just the third time that the ICC has sought the arrest of a head of state. Mr. Putin is unlikely to face a trial at The Hague unless his own people hand him over or he travels to any of the 123 countries that are signatories to the statute establishing the ICC.
Yet the court鈥檚 action sends a signal to Russians that the world embraces a universal type of civilization, one with values defined not by ethnicity but by principles of law applicable to all, especially innocent children.
