Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Ukraine: Potential War Crimes by Russia

Tuesday 22 March 2022 · 10 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 6 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial steps include convening a cross-Whitehall group to support the gathering of evidence and witness protection services for the International Criminal Court.
  • The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 provides the capacity to freeze assets and impose visa bans on individuals found guilty of serious human rights abuses.
  • The UK supports the election of British judges and prosecutors to senior roles within the International Criminal Court, highlighting the country's legal profession's reputation.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 David Johnston
Crime & Law Enforcement Ukraine
Context

The question arises from concerns over Russia's actions in Ukraine, including the invasion and reports of war crimes.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support an investigation into potential war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Answer from Dominic Raab

With your forbearance, Mr Speaker, may I join the expression that you gave on the fifth anniversary of the murder of PC Palmer? I send my sympathies to the family and our total solidarity in this House with those who risk their lives on the frontline. Vladimir Putin's regime is responsible for an illegal invasion. There is strong evidence of war crimes and we believe that those responsible must be held to account.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide specific steps being taken by the Department to support the investigation.

How: Redirected Attention To The Murder Of Pc Palmer

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Q2 Ben Spencer Con Runnymede and Weybridge
Ukraine
Context

There are concerns about ensuring mechanisms are in place for collecting evidence of war crimes committed by Russia.

Question

What steps has he taken to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so that the evidence of war crimes can be confidently collected by the International Criminal Court?

Answer from Dominic Raab

We are doing two things in particular. First, I have convened a cross-Whitehall group, which we have done in the past, to ensure that we can provide whatever support may be needed for everything from witness protection services to the gathering of evidence and information co-operation. Secondly, I have been to The Hague and I will be going back this week. I am working with a coalition of countries that also have unique expertise in that area to provide the support that the Court needs.

Answered
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Q3 Damien Moore Con
Ukraine Foreign Affairs
Context

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 has been passed to address the issue of illegal gains from war criminals.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that our recently passed Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 will ensure that this Conservative Government will take every step to deprive those found guilty of war crimes in Ukraine of their illegally gotten gains?

Answer from Dominic Raab

My hon. Friend will know that, because of the Sergei Magnitsky regime for asset freezes and visa bans for anyone who has committed serious human rights abuses, we already have that capacity in place. That is on top of the further co-operation that we will provide with the ICC and, I should mention, that the Attorney General will provide with the prosecutor general of Ukraine.

Answered
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Q4 John Whittingdale Con Maldon
Ukraine
Context

There is concern about the potential use of chemical or biological weapons, which would be a breach of international protocols.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that, while the shelling of civilians is itself a war crime, any use of chemical or biological weapons, as predicted by President Biden today, would be a breach of the Geneva protocol and the chemical weapons convention and would most certainly be a war crime?

Answer from Dominic Raab

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am always careful to allow the ICC, of which both the prosecutor and the chambers of the Court are independent, to make those determinations, but the points of principle that he has set out are absolutely right. There must be no impunity for those in Moscow or the commanders on the ground who commit those atrocities.

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Q5 David Duguid Con
Justice & Courts Ukraine Foreign Affairs
Context

There is a need to build international support for the prosecution of individuals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.

Question

Can my right hon. Friend outline to the House what steps the Government have taken to build the broadest caucus of support for prosecuting President Putin and his regime over their actions in Ukraine? Will he join me in applauding the role of the British ICC judge and British prosecutor in their work on the issue?

Answer from Dominic Raab

My hon. Friend is right. We secured the election of Karim Khan and Jo Korner. They operate independently on the Court but it is a sign of how well regarded this country's legal profession is that we have two such senior figures there, as well as the registrar. Again, they operate independently, but we are working with the Ukrainian authorities, led by the Attorney General. I am also going back to The Hague to ensure that we understand the specific needs of the ICC, not just to provide support ourselves but to ensure that we bring together a coalition of countries with that unique expertise so that justice can be done.

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Q6 David Johnston
Ukraine
Context

There is a desire to learn from past efforts and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice faster.

Question

There will not be many people watching the TV each night who think that what Putin is doing to Ukraine does not constitute war crimes. I appreciate what my right hon. Friend says about the evidence and that these things can take a while. Without going into details, therefore, can he assure the House that we have learned the lessons of previous attempts to pursue war crimes cases, so that we might bring Putin and co to justice faster?

Answer from Dominic Raab

My hon. Friend is right, although, of course, we have a war going on and we need to be realistic that that will take time and strategic patience. We had Radovan Karadžić, the butcher of the Balkans, delivered to a British jail cell last year under a sentence enforcement agreement that I happened to negotiate with the UN in 2004. These things will take time; that is the realpolitik that we are dealing with. We are ensuring, however, first, that things such as the preservation of evidence are a priority now in conduct on the ground, and secondly, that the message goes out that we and our partners in support of the ICC are being clear that, if someone commits those kinds of crimes, sooner or later they will end up in the dock of the Court and behind bars.

Answered
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Q7 Barry Sheerman Lab
Ukraine
Context

There is a need for regular updates from the Government on progress regarding investigations and prosecutions of war crimes.

Question

As the Secretary of State is a very senior member of the Government, would he ensure that this House is updated regularly on what is going on? So much has happened, even over the last weekend, in this dreadful conflict, so would he send a message that this House should be updated regularly? I started by thinking that this must be settled peacefully, but are we really going to allow injustice to rule in this country and to let Russia get away with it?

Answer from Dominic Raab

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and I thank him for what he has said. I would be happy to update the House through oral questions or other means, and I am very happy to meet him. It is absolutely right that there will not be a peaceful settlement to this. I think we can all agree that trusting Vladimir Putin to keep his word is going to be a very tall order for anyone in the community, let alone President Zelensky, and there cannot just be a brushing under the carpet of atrocities committed now or in the future.

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Q8 Peter Grant SNP
Ukraine
Context

There are concerns about ensuring investigations extend back to the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Question

The Secretary of State will be aware that Russian criminality in Ukraine did not start this year; it started in 2014. Since then, there have been crimes against the people of Ukraine, including, we have to say, gross abuses of the human rights of ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Will he use his influence to ensure that any war crimes investigation is extended to the beginning of the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014?

Answer from Dominic Raab

I thank the hon. Gentleman, who makes a really important point. Of course, I must at this point say that it will be for the ICC, which operates independently, to determine the temporal scope of its jurisdiction.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer avoided commitment to extending investigations back to 2014 by deferring to the ICC's independent determination.

How: Deferred Responsibility To An External Body

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Q9 Tony Lloyd Lab
Crime & Law Enforcement Ukraine Foreign Affairs
Context

The Justice Secretary highlighted that accountability for war crimes extends beyond just Moscow, but also to commanders on the ground. He further noted that individual soldiers, including conscripts, could be held accountable by the ICC.

Question

What can we do as a nation to help the International Criminal Court get the message across that those in the field, including individual soldiers and conscripts, could find themselves before the Court?

Answer from Dominic Raab

The hon. Gentleman is right that we are looking at ways to support independent media sources so that Russians get the facts on the ground about potential accountability before the International Criminal Court. We are also considering how conscripts and commanders could be at risk under this accountability framework.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions from the UK government to support the ICC were not detailed.

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Q10 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Ukraine
Context

Russia has been accused of attacking hospitals, schools and churches in Ukraine, targeting babies, children, and elderly people. This raises questions about how to ensure accountability for these actions at the International Criminal Court.

Question

What steps have been taken to co-ordinate with the UN to collect and preserve evidence to hold those responsible accountable before the ICC?

Answer from Dominic Raab

The hon. Gentleman is correct that one of the critical issues right now is preserving early evidence regarding orders from higher command and committing crimes. We are looking at ways to work with our allies, leveraging unique capabilities in law enforcement such as information cooperation, witness protection, sentence enforcement, and forensic evidence.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps taken for coordination were not detailed; the answer was more about intentions and ongoing considerations.

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