Ukraine: Matter of time before Putin is on trial for war crimes, US envoy says
It is only a matter of time before Vladimir Putin is on trial for war crimes according to President Biden’s envoy for global criminal justice.
Speaking to Sky News, ambassador Beth Van Schaack said a global coalition of nations and international lawyers is working together to build a case against Russia which leads right to the top.
“We need to connect the crimes we’re seeing on the ground, that we have very clear digital evidence of, with those in the position of command and control,” she said.
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“So, go up the chain of command; who ordered these offenses? Who allowed them to be committed?
“Who has failed to prosecute and investigate those deemed most responsible? Who has failed to properly supervise their subordinates?”
The quest for justice came as the general assembly of the United Nations overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for a comprehensive, lasting and just peace.
Some 141 of the UN’s 193 member nations called for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and for accountability for war crimes.
Just six countries – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria – voted with Russia against the resolution.
China, India, Iran and South Africa were among the 32 countries who abstained.
The vote is not binding but does indicate that global resolve against Russian aggression has not dwindled over the past year.
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UN backs resolution demanding Russia’s withdrawal
A Western diplomatic source told Sky News: “One year on and despite all Russia’s efforts to distract and confuse and strong-arm people, international support for Ukraine has remained rock solid.”
Significantly, the attempt by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to garner support in Africa with a recent tour of nations there didn’t have the desired effect.
With the exception of Mali and Eritrea, they did not vote with Russia.
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Putin addresses stadium days before war anniversary
Putin in the dock
Asked how likely it is that President Putin faces a courtroom himself, Ambassador Van Schaack told Sky News: “Well, Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, Hissene Habre of Chad?
“I don’t think any of those men thought they would ever see the inside of a courtroom and every single one of them did. And so we need to be playing a long game here.”
Earlier this month, America’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced that the US believes crimes against humanity have been carried out by Russia.
Mr Blinken said: “Members of Russia’s forces have committed execution-style killings of Ukrainian men, women and children; torture of civilians in detention through beatings, electrocution and mock executions; rape; and, alongside other Russian officials, have deported hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, including children who have been forcibly separated from their families.”
He added: “These acts are not random or spontaneous; they are part of the Kremlin’s widespread and systematic attack against Ukraine’s civilian population.”
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Landmarks light up for Ukraine
Ambassador Van Schaack described the wealth of digital evidence being used to build a case against Russia.
“We’ve seen the satellite imagery and other imagery even just taken from ordinary CCTV cameras on people’s front yards of bodies lying hands tied behind their back; clear evidence of either torture or summary execution-style killings,” she said.
“Ordinary civilians now are capable of documenting the commission of war crimes around them by simply holding up their cell phone,” she added.
“The problem now is maybe too much information and having to sift through all of that digital information to find the best evidence.”
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Avenues for justice – and the shadow of Iraq
There are a number of routes to pursue a case against Vladimir Putin, his inner circle and individuals within his military hierarchy.
One is a prosecutor general in Ukraine investigating cases in the country’s own domestic system with support from the international community.
Another avenue is the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Domestic courts around the world could also play a role.
Many European states have already formed joint investigative teams to share information with each other about the condition of potential abuses, and potential responsible individuals.
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Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy is also seeking a mechanism to prosecute a specific case of the crime of aggression.
Ambassador Van Schaack explained: “This is a high priority for Ukraine, because they see that initial act of aggression as being the original sin that unleashed all of the other war crimes and atrocities that we’re seeing around the country.”
This avenue presents an awkward dilemma for the US.
Its invasion of Iraq in 2003, without United Nations approval, was deemed illegal by many counties who argue it represented an American-led act of aggression.
But Ambassador Van Schaack argues that it is “a false equivalence”.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a manifest violation of the UN Charter,” she said.
“And it has been accompanied by war crimes everywhere. The world is increasingly united around the imperative of justice in this case.”
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
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