 "Photo of President Vladimir Putin released by the Kremlin")
Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t been travelling abroad much since the start of the Ukraine war. And for good reason. After all, Putin has a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) out for his arrest.
But Putin is set to travel abroad next week. He may even meet US President Donald Trump. The ICC issued the warrant against Putin for ‘war crimes’ in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putin is wanted, along with some other members of the Kremlin, for his alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine.
Hundreds, if not thousands of children, are said to have been abducted by Russia.
But what do we know about the ICC?
Let’s take a closer look:
What we know about ICC
The court, also known as the Hague, is based in the Netherlands. It was established in 2002 with the objective of holding politicians accountable for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Over 100 countries are members of the Hague with Ukraine being the latest member. However, United States, Russia and China have still to join.
It employes over 900 with a budget of $228 million. The problem is that it has no powers of its own. Instead, it depends on members states to follow through on arrest warrants that have been issued. But member states haven’t followed through often.
Which is why Putin has travelled to Mongolia – a member of the ICC. Putin has also been to China and North Korea, which are not ICC members. Putin is said to be heading to the United Arab Emirates, which is also not a member of the ICC.
The court has issued over five dozen warrants. However, 30 of those named remain at large. The ICC is in many instances the final stand for many.
Essentially, it takes on those people that other countries cannot or will not challenge. The United States and Russia have both come out against the court.
The Trump did so after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu has described the warrant as ‘absurd”.
The Trump administration has sanctioned the ICC and accused it of “illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting America and Israel.
Trump also took aim at Fatou Bensouda, the previous ICC prosecutor, during his first term. The Biden administration later rescinded those sanctions. Russia too rejects the court’s authority. Moscow In turn has issued a warrant for Khan and the ICC judge who signed Putin’s warrant.
A litany of failures
Mongolia isn’t the only one that failed to uphold a warrant. Hungary too failed to do so during a visit by Netanyahu. Instead, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed Netanyahu with open arms. Orbán, who is close to Putin, has announced his country too will leave the ICC.
The only other countries to have left are Burundi and the Philippines, whose former president, Rodrigo Duterte, is in custody at the court’s cell block in The Hague after he was arrested on charges of crimes against humanity linked to his government’s deadly crackdown on drugs.
Duterte was arrested in his home country in March by Philippine police as he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong. President Ferdinand Marcos said the arrest was “proper and correct” and not an act of political persecution.
South Africa allowed Sudan’s then-leader Omar al-Bashir to visit in 2015 without arresting him. Al-Bashir is wanted on charges including genocide for his role in the bloody conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the 2000s. He is in prison in his own country but still has not been sent to The Hague, even after being ousted from office in 2019 in a popular uprising.
Khan on leave amid probe
Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has stepped down pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. He has categorically denied accusations that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will.
No date has been set for the investigation to be completed.