US passes ‘war crime’ resolution against Russian President, but will Putin be arrested?
Proposal passed in US Senate
The US Senate has passed an important resolution calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for imposing war on Ukraine. The motion was passed unanimously in the US Senate and all senators from the Republican Party and Democratic Party inside the Senate passed a resolution to declare Putin a war criminal. The resolution encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate war crimes for invading Ukraine. At the same time, regarding the proposal, Democratic Party Senator Chuck Schumer said that, “We all Democratic and Republican senators say together, that Putin cannot avoid taking accountability for his atrocities to impose war on Ukraine.” .
Meaning of American offer
The resolution that the US has introduced in its Senate against Russian President Putin means nothing more than a symbolic one. The resolution is meant to reflect US aggression to support Ukraine, but it will not affect Putin’s health. This Senate resolution does not say to use ‘legal force’. But, the Biden administration shows a more strict political line against Putin. Last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris called for an international war crimes investigation against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. And now the resolution has been passed in the US Senate. But, the question is, will the Russian President be prosecuted?
What is a war crime?
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on 2 March, following requests from 40 member states, that he would launch an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC gives clear definitions of the crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression. And this definition of the IACC is also incorporated into a treaty called the ‘Rome Statute’, which forms the foundation of the ICC. According to its directives, those involved in all kinds of acts targeting civilian populations, violating the Geneva Conventions, and targeting and killing specific groups of people, are eligible to be prosecuted for war crimes. War crimes include murder, mutilation, cruelty, hostage, rape and sexual slavery, and all these acts are in violation of the laws of war. In addition, international humanitarian law prohibits the use of weapons that can cause indiscriminate pain, such as the use of chemical or biological weapons.
People are prosecuted, not on the country
The most interesting thing is that in the ICC, individuals are prosecuted and not countries. Anyone who comes under the jurisdiction of the ICC can be prosecuted and the ICC usually tries to prosecute the top officials and leaders who are most responsible for starting the war. In the case of the war in Ukraine, investigators will look into both past and present allegations. This is likely to include war crimes that Putin ordered during Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
ICC may issue warrant
If sufficient evidence is found against Russian President Vladimir Putin during the ICC trial, then an arrest warrant can be issued against him, but the problem is that without Putin’s presence, he cannot be prosecuted and Since Russia is not a member of the ICC, Putin is unlikely to attend court. That is, either Vladimir Putin is arrested by the Russian army and handed over to the ICC, or after leaving Russia, the government of that country will arrest Putin and hand him over to the ICC. Both these situations are impossible.
Will the UNSC give instructions?
In addition, either the government of a country or the United Nations Security Council can direct the ICC to investigate matters. Since Russia is a permanent member of the UNSC, it has veto power, so even if the United Nations is ordered to prosecute the Russian President, Russia can stop it by using its veto. That is, running a ‘war crime’ against Putin is only symbolic and in reality it is impossible.
