The war in Ukraine is far from over, but the G7 countries are forming a network to investigate and document all war crimes at a high level. None of the perpetrators should feel safe, not even the Kremlin leadership, says Justice Minister Buschmann.
To improve the prosecution of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, the G7 states want to set up a network of national contact points for investigations into international crimes that international organizations and other states can turn to. The seven leading industrialized countries (G7) have committed themselves to this, said Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann after a meeting of the G7 justice ministers in Berlin. The Ukrainians in Germany are also called upon to “tell us what they have seen”.
The G7 countries want to better coordinate their investigations. Evidence should be collected at such a high level that it can be used in any judicial system. “Extremely professional, trained investigators are needed,” said Buschmann. The victims are often deeply traumatized and their help should be as little stressful as possible for them. The clear message to the world is: “War criminals should not and must not and cannot feel safe anywhere where we can apprehend them,” Buschmann continued. The process will be done to you. “No war crime must go unpunished.”
G7 ministers adopted a statement stating: “War crimes and other atrocities must not go unpunished. Prosecuting the core crimes of international law is our top priority.” Minister Buschmann said the federal government’s position was to work with the International Criminal Court in The Hague as much as possible. There is “great agreement” that the “Russian leadership” must also be prosecuted. However, there are limits for national investigative authorities, for example with heads of state.
These limits do not apply to the International Criminal Court. He is counting on the entire Russian leadership being investigated there for crimes against humanity. However, he is concerned that the International Criminal Court is not responsible for the crime of aggression. If there are gaps that could be closed with a mechanism with added value, “we will support this constructively,” said Buschmann. This is being discussed in the European Union.
In addition to Germany, the G7 group also includes France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada and the USA. The meeting in Berlin was also attended by EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, the Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maljuska, the Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan.
