ZMINA advocates earliest possible ratification of Rome Statute by Ukraine at conference in Czech Republic

On June 16, the CEELI Institute in Prague organized a conference on the rule of law as part of the annual meeting. Alena Lunova, advocacy director of Human Rights Centre ZMINA, joined the meeting. 

Lunova spoke, in particular, about the ratification of the Rome Statute and the problems faced by the war crime investigation system in Ukraine. 

“It is important to insist on the creation of an international tribunal for the international crime of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. But this will not solve the issue of investigating more than 93,000 war crimes already documented by law enforcement agencies of Ukraine as of mid-June. Unfortunately, we understand that the number of detected crimes will only increase. Therefore, it is necessary to support the national law enforcement and judicial systems, strengthen their potential, conduct additional training. It is important for our country to adhere to all the basic principles that guarantee a fair decision,” Lunova said. 

In addition, Lunova noted that ZMINA, together with other members of Ukraine 5AM Coalition, advocates the earliest possible ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC, which will allow Ukraine to be involved in the ICC’s activity as a full-fledged member. Also, the ratification of the Statute is a mandatory condition for further Ukraine’s European integration, the expert reminds. 

Alena Lunova  

Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Prague Christy Agor and Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, who pointed to the important role of the international legal community in ensuring accountability for Russian crimes, also attended the conference.