[Jimbuna]

ICC Prosecutor Khan on Mongolia’s refusal to arrest Putin: Results will come, though it’s not easy

The implementation of the rules provided for in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is not perfect, but the refusal of Mongolia as a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC is not a reason for disappointment.

According to Censor.NET, ICC prosecutor Kareem Khan told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday, answering questions from the Interfax-Ukraine agency during a visit to the Okhmatdyt hospital, which suffered from a Russian missile attack.

"This is the first time in two years... since the arrest warrants were issued. This is the first time he (Putin) has been on the territory of a signatory to the Rome Statute. It is documented that he has not visited other countries that are members of the ICC.... So it is clear that the arrest warrants are already in place," Khan said.

He added that "of course, compliance and cooperation at the ICC is not perfect; there have been cases of non-compliance in the past when states have not cooperated with the court."

"Do not be disappointed, we will see results, but it will not be easy. We are moving towards the real application of the law and we are doing it together," Khan said, answering a clarifying question about whether international law is still working.

The ICC prosecutor also told reporters that there is a response algorithm in place if a signatory country to the Rome Statute refuses to fulfil its obligations.

"There is a special procedure in the Rome Statute for dealing with such cases when the state did not cooperate with the court. Accordingly, it is all controlled by judges.... The judges are aware of what happened... As a rule, when such incidents occur, a general meeting of all member states (of the ICC) is held and decisions are made accordingly," Khan said.

Putin's visit to Mongolia
Mongolia recognises the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Earlier, the ICC noted that Mongolia is a country that has ratified the Rome Statute. According to it, it is obliged to arrest Russian dictator Putin under a warrant issued by the court in The Hague.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also called on Mongolia to arrest the Russian dictator. The ministry reminded that Putin is a war criminal.

In turn, Bloomberg reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was assured before his planned visit to Mongolia that he would not be arrested for war crimes under an International Criminal Court warrant. This will be his first visit to a country that has ratified the Rome Statute.

The European Parliament called on EU High Representative Josep Borrell to react to Mongolia's behaviour if it does not arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Subsequently , Mongolia explained that it had failed to comply with the International Criminal Court's warrant for the arrest of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin because it was dependent on imports of Russian energy products.

The European Union regretted that the Mongolian authorities had ignored the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Putin. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3509172