Strengthening the ICC

The images of alleged atrocities of the Russian troops in the Ukrainian town of Bucha have created international outcry. Moscow is being accused of killing civilians in the town, a charge vehemently refuted by the Kremlin. Russia claims that some of the footage fueling the outrage were manipulated. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that experts at the Ministry of Defence had identified signs of manipulated video. He warned many international leaders against rushing to what he called sweeping accusations, asserting at least they should listen to Moscow’s arguments.

But it seems the US is unimpressed by these statements, with US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price dismissing the Russian denial as baseless and shameless. Price told reporters that the images they had seen and the reports they had received suggested that these atrocities were not the act of a rogue soldier but part of a broader, troubling campaign.

The statements by American officials indicate that Washington is taking this matter seriously and the American leadership seems to have a dogged determination to bring those who are responsible for these alleged atrocities to justice. Price revealed that his country was backing a “multinational team” of investigators collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes at the request of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. He emphasized the need to hold those who committed atrocities and the ones who ordered them accountable.

While Price is talking about a probe and a rigorous investigation, his boss, President Joe Biden, does not feel any need for such a probe. He has already declared Russian President Putin a war criminal, warning that a war crime trial could be held as global outrage grows against the Bucha incident. Biden also hinted at imposing more sanctions on Russia.

It is not only American officials who have expressed concerns over the incident in Bucha; other international bodies and global organisations’ heads have also expressed their concerns over the alleged atrocities. But, unlike the US, they demanded an inquiry instead of reaching any conclusion or declaring Putin a war criminal. The United Nations also called for an independent probe into the killings in Bucha.

It seems that Washington is intent on holding a war trial but many experts wonder how the American leadership would do it because the sole superpower is not a member of the International Criminal Court. It was rather very hostile to the idea of setting up such a court. The American leadership unabashedly sought immunity for its soldiers who were accused of committing war crimes in several parts of the world. US officials even denounced the ICC’s attempts to seek an investigation into the alleged war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Afghanistan.

It is heartening to know that the US is not inimical to the idea of holding trials of those who may have committed war crimes. It is also encouraging that it views civilian casualties in Ukraine with grave concerns and wants a halt to such losses immediately. But it could be argued that if Ukraine could be a focus of the world’s attention for the loss of over 900 innocent lives then why should Iraq not catch the attention of the international community for losing more than 2.5 million lives? Why should the global community remain indifferent to this Arab state that witnessed one of the most horrible incidents of death and destruction in modern times? Why should the targeting of wedding ceremonies in Afghanistan allegedly by American and Nato troops not be discussed in any tribunal? Why should no question be asked about the civilian killing during the Nato bombardment in Yugoslavia in the 1990s?

When it comes to punishing war criminals and those who committed heinous crimes against humanity, the West always turns out to be selective. It might want to prosecute Milosevic for the alleged atrocities in Bosnia but wants to spare those who armed and trained the Kosovo Liberation Army. They want to prosecute Assad for alleged crimes against humanity but want to ignore the crimes of General Pinochet and his alleged patron Henry Kissinger. They are dying to discuss Ukraine at international forums but are reluctant to express the same zeal for the hapless people of Yemen who have been caught in a terrible conflict for years.

If Washington is really interested in upholding rule of law in the world, then it must recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. It must become a part of this global body that seeks to prosecute global war criminals. The American leadership should not seek any impunity for its own soldiers who have allegedly committed war crimes in North Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and several other parts of the world.

The American leadership cannot declare the UN an irrelevant body when it tries to stop it from invading a country without the approval of the Security Council and then embrace it when the global body condemns Russia, China or any other country. It cannot denounce the ICC when it wants to probe into the alleged war crimes of Israel and encourage the same body to investigate the alleged crimes of Moscow. The US and the West have to give up this hypocritical position. They must let international bodies work independently without any external influence.

Even today the US wants to follow an inquiry into the alleged war crimes in Bucha without the ICC. It is backing a multinational team, which might comprise elements sympathetic to the US cause, working on the alleged war crimes in Bucha. So, it does not want the ICC or any other global body to take the lead because its leadership seems to know if such a body is allowed to declare a verdict against Russia, tomorrow it could do the same against the sole superpower.

The question is; if the US with around 6000 nuclear arsenals can denounce the ICC and other global bodies, what can prevent Moscow, which has over 7000 nuclear bombs and supersonic missiles, from doing the same. Power is inherently arrogant. It can only be reined in by laws, customs and traditions. It is important that if global powers really want to make the ICC and other international bodies effective, then they must give up their hypocritical attitude towards these bodies. The ICC must be strengthened to not only probe the alleged war crimes in Bucha but also such crimes anywhere else in the world. Iraq and Afghanistan could be the starting points.

Email: egalitarianism444@gmail.com