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Transcript/Script
((TITLE: TV Ukraine Russia War Tribunal – Kovalenko
HEAD: Calls For Tribunal to Prosecute Russia for "Crime of Aggression" In Ukraine
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 02/09/2023 AT 11:10AM
BYLINE: Oleksii Kovalenko
DATELINE: Washington
CAMERA: Kostiantyn Golubchyk
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Kenochs; MAS
VIDEO FROM: VOA
TYPE: TVPKG
TRT: 2:12
VIDEO APPROVER'S INITIALS: KE
UPDATE:
EDS: ))
((INTRO)):
[[Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, has called for the creation of an ad-hoc international tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russian’s aggression in Ukraine. Oleksii Kovalenko has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
Both international and Ukrainian courts are investigating war crimes committed by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February of last year.
Now Ukrainian authorities are calling on the international community to create a tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression.
The prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, says it’s a necessary step.
((Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine)) ((ENG))
“Ukraine calls for the establishment of the ad-hoc special tribunal for the crime of aggression, as most feasible and efficient route for accountability.”
((NARRATION))
Kostin says it’s up to the international community to hold Russia accountable because Ukraine’s judicial system cannot take legal action against leaders of a different country.
And involving the UN is problematic, because Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and could veto any attempts to bring forward a case.
The US State Department is considering various formats to potentially create an international tribunal and is also suggesting that, at this stage, creating an interim prosecution office would...
((Beth Van Schaack, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice)) ((ENG))
“bring together Ukrainian prosecutors with other interdisciplinary and international experts to start collecting the information that would be used to undergird a prosecution for the crime of aggression….”
((NARRATION))
Clint Williamson – the former U.S. Ambassador for War Crimes - is on the international team to help Ukraine with the war crimes prosecution. He stresses the importance of having an office at The Hague.
((Clint Williamson, Former US War Crimes Ambassador)) ((ENG))
“…I think as these discussions have progressed, as people have looked at other options – one of them that has been talked about is the creation of an interim prosecutor's office that would pave the way for ultimately establishing a tribunal – we are making progress on this.”
((NARRATION))
Also this year, President Biden signed the Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, which makes it possible to prosecute alleged Russian war criminals in the US.
((Beth Van Schaack, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice)) ((ENG))
“Under the original statute, we could only prosecute war crimes if either the victim or a perpetrator was a US person. That meant that Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians – women, children, POWs in custody – none of those could be prosecuted in US courts.”
((NARRATION))
For now, the wheels of justice are moving slowly, especially on the international stage and officials say it could be years before any alleged war criminals come to trial.
((Oleksii Kovalenko, for VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
BylineOleksii Kovalenko
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
