In Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council has voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to establish a commission of inquiry into war crimes. The vote came after investigators from the International Criminal Court left The Hague for Ukraine to collect evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committed by Russia’s military. British Pakistani lawyer Karim Khan will lead the prosecution.
Karim Khan: “I think the world is watching, and the world expects better. Humanity expects better than we’re getting around the world, and Ukraine is no exception.”
The White House said the U.S. would work closely with the ICC to support its investigation. Russia and Ukraine have not ratified the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court; neither has the United States. In 2020, then-President Trump sanctioned ICC prosecutors over the court’s investigations into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, as well as war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.