On Thursday (20 October), Dutch MP expressed their desire to set up a tribunal for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates in The Hague, the international city of peace and justice.
The motion was filed by the D66 party and Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, who said that “It is essential that Putin, the one who is behind the terrible war in Ukraine, does not get away with it with impunity when this war is over”. A majority of the House of Representatives has agreed on the motion, and an application for the tribunal is expected to be sent to the European Union and United Nations shortly, by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra.
The proposed tribunal does not suggest that it will be an easy task to get Vladimir Putin into a courtroom, but it will instead ensure that once it is possible, the correct institutions are in place that can bring him, and his associates, to justice for atrocities committed in Ukraine.
The Hague already houses a wide range of specialised war crime tribunals which have successfully prosecuted previous atrocities in for example former Yugoslavia, while it also houses the International Criminal Court (ICC), although the ICC would lack any jurisdiction to prosecute Putin directly. A potential location for a new tribunal is being sought by the Municipality of The Hague.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: rtlnieuws
