Ukrainian and Latvian experts discussed a current situation with international system of justice during the discussion “Justice for the Victims of International Crimes as a Guarantee of Stable Peace” within the Third Parliamentary Summit of International Crimea Platform in Riga, Latvia, on October 24, 2024.
The discussion was opened with welcome words by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, and Olha Skrypnyk, Chairperson of the Crimean Human Rights Group Board.
Ms. Mierina emphasized the issue of liability as a guarantee for stable peace and security in her speech. “This is the lesson both from our own history and the latest times: impunity. Impunity encourages aggressors to commit new crimes. Therefore, I am happy and thankful that you as experts will be discussing these particular issues of liability. We should continue together a dedicated and persistent work to create a liability instrument that would allow to bring the Russian top leadership to justice”, Ms. Mierina pointed out.
Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea, drew attention to the fact that the human rights situation in the occupied Crimea became worse after the full-scale invasion because Crimeans did not stop to resist. “The Russian occupation authorities are persecuting all these people under Russian law, accusing them of discrediting the Russian armed forces. Even aware of the risk of punishment, people are demonstrating incredible courage and are resisting in Crimea. And when we hear the narrative that the majority of Crimeans support Russia, this is completely untrue, because people in Crimea are resisting the occupation, even understanding that they may be punished”. She added that only de-occupation of Crimea may stop crimes of Russians.
Memorializing is important to achieve justice now already. This was detailed in the speech by Daryna Pidhorna, a lawyer of the Regional Centre for Human Rights, a member of the HUMANITARIAN POLICY Group of Crimea Platform Expert Network. “In the process of de-occupation – and even after it – we will face the issue of how to preserve the memory of the peninsula, of the war, of those who suffered, who were witnesses or victims of these crimes. For some, justice means having their story heard, while for others, silence may be the only peace they seek. It is high time for us to start thinking about the politics of memory, because only political will and strategy can change the paradigm, making it more oriented towards victims, witnesses and people in general, and not towards criminals who, in the end, can return to society regardless of whether they will be punished. Our network of experts is ready to support the national states in formulating such policies that are focused on the interests of victims and witnesses. The way we will remember and consider these events in Crimea and Ukraine will have effects far beyond our region, influencing the whole world in various spheres,” Ms. Pidhorna said. According to her, in this regard, the experience of Latvia and other countries that were under the Soviet regime is important for Ukraine.
Nariman Dzhelial, the first deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, a former political prisoner, shared his own experience of being in captivity, as well as his vision of what could bring the Ukrainian and international community closer to the establishment of justice. He emphasized the importance of collecting information about crimes and criminals: “It is feeling of impunity that makes them particularly cruel. We have to prove to them that they will definitely be punished. The fact is that we are now facing with such a narrative that only the top of the Russian government will be held liable, but we must understand that all the actors must also be held liable. Therefore, our position should be very clear: both the Russian state as a whole and each person who committed a crime against Ukrainian citizens will be held liable. There is also a category of people who do not commit crimes themselves, but they help these crimes be committed – these are journalists, bloggers and various propagandists, people who are calling to commit crimes, persecute the people”.
Kristīne Līcis, Legislation and International Law Adviser to the President of Latvia, added in turn that international law was highly decentralized, and states themselves created the rules for themselves and enforce them and punish violations. “It depends on the political will of states, so it is important to remember that international law is only as effective as states are willing to support it. At the same time, international law has many mechanisms for responding to its violations and ensuring comprehensive liability, which is the basis of justice. This means both the liability of Russia as a state and the criminal liability of individuals,” she emphasized. She pointed out that as early as in 2014 Ukraine did a lot to introduce international law mechanisms but, anyway, a lot more should be done, including by the international community, to create, in particular, a special tribunal for the Russian Federation leaders.
According to Nadiia Volkova, Director of Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group, to investigate war crimes and to hold the guilty liable more coordination is required, for instance, in establishing the crime of aggression and deciding on the punishment itself.
“The mechanism of universal jurisdiction has been activated, and the readiness of many states with such jurisdiction to prosecute for crimes committed in the territory of Ukraine is being discussed. However, the reality is that many of these states, having experience in investigating similar crimes in Syria, Iraq, are also limited in resources and capabilities. Therefore, the main part of crimes will have to be investigated within the country. Our system is overloaded: as you know, more than 130,000 cases have already been opened, and this number is growing due to the ongoing aggression. Considerable resources have been invested in the national system, but there are still numerous problems and challenges in terms of legislation, infrastructure, and resources,” Ms. Volkova explained. She emphasized that despite the activation of international mechanisms, their effectiveness was limited by a lack of resources and difficulties with coordination. Summing up, Nadiia Volkova noted that the Crimean platform was a symbol of continuous struggle, despite Russia’s attempts to send the world into turmoil and lawlessness.
For a full video recording of the discussion follow the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo6Laj2KRxo
Expert discussions within the 3rd Parliamentary Summit of International Crimea Platform were held thanks to the support of the UK Government.
Photo by Valerii Mezentsev, Crimea Platform Expert Network.