Cardin, Kaine Call on Biden-Harris Administration to Lead Effort to Create a United Nations Special Tribunal to Prosecute Putin and Top Russians for War Against Ukraine

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the introduction today of a Senate resolution calling on the president "to support the creation of an international special tribunal to prosecute Russia's unlawful aggression against Ukraine." The resolution outlines a sampling of the unprovoked and deliberate actions taken by Russia against civilians in Ukraine.

The resolution places the blame for the atrocities taking place squarely on Vladimir Putin and calls on the White House to put forward a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to ensure there is accountability at the highest level. The resolution states: "Whereas the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Ukraine, but it does not have jurisdiction over crimes of aggression in Ukraine because neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation have ratified the Rome Statute and its amendments related to the crime of aggression; Whereas the Russian Federation has committed manifest aggression against the Ukrainian state for which its leadership must be held accountable; Whereas the international community must hold those responsible for these atrocities to account for their actions, including Russian President Putin and all of the Members of the Security Council of Russia…"

The resolution condemns "in the strongest terms, the Russian Federation's full-scale war and aggression against Ukraine; regards the Russian Federation's aggression in Ukraine as an affront to humanity and in contravention of international law; calls on the United States to use its voice and vote in international institutions to support the creation of a special international criminal tribunal to hold accountable the leaders of the Russian Federation who led and sanctioned aggression in Ukraine…"

The United States Senate "stands with people of Ukraine in support of their freedom and Ukraine's sovereignty against tyranny," it concludes.

Full text of the resolution is available here.

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