Opening remarks by Commissioner Reynders at the Justice Ministers Conference on Support to the International Criminal Court and its Investigations into the Situation in Ukraine
European Commission
Speech
20 March 2023
London
"Check against delivery"
Dear Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to be present here today to reaffirm the European Union's long-standing support for the invaluable work of the International Criminal Court, most recently in the context of the war in Ukraine.
For more than a year now, Russia's war of aggression has disregarded the foundations of our international rules-based order and destroyed the lives of many.
It is against this background that the ICC has stepped up its efforts in investigating the international crimes that are being committed on Ukrainian soil on a daily basis.
It is clear that when it comes to preventing impunity for the most serious crimes committed during this war, the International Criminal Court remains the key international actor to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.
For this reason that, since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression, the European Commission has provided over EUR 10 million in support of the ICC's work on Ukraine.
And let me assure you, the European Union stands ready to continue providing the necessary support as the situation in Ukraine deserves a response that is up to the task.
A financing decision was recently adopted on to continue an EU support project to the ICC, which is scheduled for 2025 and will encompass an amount of EUR 3 million.
In addition, the Commission, Council and Member States have been discussing a joint coordination and follow up to the requested support by the Office of the Prosecutor.
In light of the above, I welcome and encourage the pledges by Member States to provide further support, which we will hear more about later today.
But let there be no mistake: in our struggle to ensure that justice is served for Ukraine and its people, our efforts cannot stop at providing the necessary financial support.
We also need to coordinate our investigative efforts in respect to the international crimes committed in Ukraine.
In March last year, Eurojust supported the set-up of a Joint Investigation Team in order to coordinate national investigations on international crimes committed in Ukraine.
For the first time ever, the ICC is participating in a JIT, which facilitates swift and efficient coordination with Ukraine and six Member States as JIT members.
Another crucial development is the setup of the future "International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine" (ICPA), which will be embedded in the current JIT.
The ICPA will provide a structure for enhanced cooperation on the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence related to the crime of aggression for any future trial.
Ultimately, we need to look ahead to ensure that the ICC can effectively perform its function in the context of the current crises of today and the crises of tomorrow.
This also entails the need for the international community to strengthen the ICC's jurisdictional regime over the most serious international crimes, including for the crime of aggression.
In order to pursue this objective, the Commission underlines the necessity to amend the Rome Statute in order to enable it to exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.
For this reason, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 10 March, I invited the Member States to continue reflecting on this important and timely endeavor.
In the short term, the establishment of any potential accountability mechanism for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine should respect the ICC's mandate and jurisdictional primacy.
Finally, the Commission and Member States have continuously called on Ukraine to ratify the Rome Statute. Such a decision would bring Ukrainian national legislation in line with international standards and provisions, thereby strengthening the international rules-based order for current and future generations of Ukrainians.
Let me conclude by saying this. One thing is clear: there can be no impunity for the international crimes committed in Ukraine, including the crime of aggression.
I am therefore convinced that it is our role, as an international community, to bring those responsible for these atrocities to justice.
Prosecutor Khan,
be assured that you can count on the Commission's full support in achieving this goal.
Thank you.
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