The Council of Europe calls for a special international court for Russia and Belarus

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This international court, which will be based in The Hague, must try the leaders of Russia and Belarus who “planned, prepared, started and executed” the war, says the text of the CSCE resolution.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on Thursday for the establishment of a special international court to try the political and military leadership of Russia and Belarus for war crimes in Ukraine.

This international court, which will be based in The Hague, must try the leaders of Russia and Belarus who “planned, prepared, started and executed” the war, says the text of the CSCE resolution.

“Had they not decided to launch this aggressive war against Ukraine, the atrocities, destruction, death and damage (…) would not have come,” the text argues.

The plenary unanimously approved the resolution, which was based on a report by Swiss parliamentarian Damien Cottier.

The special international court must be “supported by as many states and as many international organizations as possible, especially by the General Assembly of the United Nations,” according to the CSCE. The Council of Europe must take a leading role in this endeavour, the resolution added.

The Council of Europe—an international organization that has no organic relationship with the EU—is responsible for overseeing the observance of human rights in its 46 member states. Russia withdrew from its ranks in March.

RES-EMP

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