War Crimes: Russia

(asked on 19th July 2022) - View Source

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, whether her Department is providing support to the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in prosecuting war crimes.


Answered by
Edward Timpson Portrait
Edward Timpson
This question was answered on 26th July 2022

The Government is appalled by the atrocities being committed in Ukraine by Russian forces, including the targeting of civilians, mass graves, and rape and sexual violence being used as weapons of war. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, at the forefront of international efforts to ensure there is no impunity. The Attorney General personally had a long and very fruitful dialogue with the former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, having signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with her to underline UK support for her Office’s work investigating and prosecuting crimes committed in the course of the conflict. The Attorney General visited the former Prosecutor General in Ukraine and hosted her for a two-day visit in London at the end of May. We look forward to continuing working closely with the Prosecutor General’s Office. Importantly, the Attorney General appointed Sir Howard Morrison QC, one of the UK’s leading war crimes lawyers, to support the Prosecutor General directly on Ukraine’s domestic investigations. The Attorney General also convened a meeting of the Quintet of Attorneys General from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with Prosecutor General Venediktova. Following this meeting, we published a joint statement which makes clear our countries’ support for Ukraine’s domestics war crimes investigations and prosecutions, and our commitment to work together with the Prosecutor General and Office of the Prosecutor General to ensure every perpetrator faces justice. The preservation and collection of evidence is vital. The UK, together with the United States and EU, has launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) to directly support the War Crimes Units of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in its investigation and prosecution of conflict-related crimes. The ACA seeks to streamline coordination and communication efforts to ensure best practices, avoid duplication of efforts, and encourage the expeditious deployment of financial resources and skilled personnel to respond to the needs of the Office of the Prosecutor General as the legally constituted authority in Ukraine responsible for dealing with the prosecution of war crimes on its own territory. This shows the Government’s clear commitment to supporting Ukraine in its investigations. We will continue to work with Ukraine, partners and international mechanisms in their investigations and to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. Those responsible will be held to account.

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