U.S. backs Hague Court investigation into Russian war crimes, says State Department
In recent years, the US has been working to reset relations with the ISS (Photo:www.hrw.org)
The United States is ready to back the International Criminal Court’s investigation of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on March 9.
A day earlier, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon is blocking the U.S. from sharing evidence on Russia’s war crimes with the ICC, citing fears of setting a precedent that could be used to prosecute American soldiers in the future.
Price noted that the U.S. has made a serious effort over the past two years to reset its relationship with the ICC. Previously, the administration of Donald Trump had imposed sanctions on member of the court looking at American war crimes in Afghanistan.
"What we don’t discuss is the specific forms of support that we may or may not be providing to the ICC,” Price said.
“We don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize the sanctity of an investigation, that could set back the pursuit of justice.”
Journalists asked whether the U.S. believes the ICC has jurisdiction over Russia, as Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute.
"We support the investigation that the prosecutor has announced,” answered Price.“Ukraine is a state party to the ICC. Yes.”
Neither the U.S., Russia, nor Ukraine are members of the Rome Statute, a 1998 treaty that created the jurisdiction for a permanent court to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
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