President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the Verkhovna Rada to immediately ratify the agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the crime of russian aggression against Ukraine. Zelenskyy announced this on the Telegram channel, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"I have just signed documents for the ratification of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of russian aggression against Ukraine," he said.
Zelenskyy noted that the agreement should be ratified promptly in order to begin the process of actually establishing the tribunal.
He also instructed to work out and submit to the Verkhovna Rada the necessary legislative changes necessary for the full implementation of the agreement on the establishment of the tribunal as soon as possible.
Zelenskyy urged the MPs to consider this issue urgently.
He also said that he expects the teams of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President to quickly present a corresponding schedule of work with partners to implement the agreement on the establishment of the tribunal and the actual launch of the institution.
"This year, russia should feel that its responsibility for the crime of aggression is inevitable and that an international legal process has really begun to hold russia accountable. Aggression is a crime, and the truly inevitable punishment of russia for this crime is in the global interest of everyone in the world who wants a peaceful life for their people," he noted.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on June 25 in Strasbourg (France), President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed an Agreement on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy called it an important achievement that the statute of the Special Tribunal clearly states: the head of state, the head of government and the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for crimes, they will not escape punishment even after they no longer hold their positions.
The russians and their accomplices responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine will be tried in The Hague. The Special Tribunal will also cooperate with the International Criminal Court, and the proceedings can be investigated in parallel by both institutions, without interfering with each other's work.
39 states, the EU and the Council of Europe have joined the work on the creation of the Special Tribunal. The preparation of the agreement lasted for more than two years.
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