Will Lukashenka be tried for deporting Ukrainian children to Belarus?
Children / Sample image / pixabay.com
"These actions are a pretty serious violation of the Geneva Convention," comments National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM)'s analyst Artsiom Brukhan on the abduction and illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of Belarus. As previously reported by Euroradio, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has implicated Aliaksandr Lukashenka in these crimes.
What does the PACE resolution mean and is the head of Belarus expecting an arrest warrant?
"The PACE resolution does not make Lukashenka a criminal and an arrest warrant, but one should understand that politically it is quite a strong statement," answers our guest. "It is recognized at the international level that Lukashenka was involved in monstrous decisions and actions, such as, to put it mildly, genocide. The information about the facts of the forcible removal of children was heard and accepted, was articulated strongly enough, and was reflected in a resolution.
But we, the NAM team, think that he is guilty first of all of the expulsion and deportation of children to the territory of Belarus. The fact that this is an act of genocide has already been established by PACE. The decision to issue arrest warrants will be made not by PACE or any other body, but by the International Criminal Court and the prosecutor."
"Can one expect that on the basis of such statements and resolutions Lukashenka will ever be tried for his crimes?"
"First of all, one should understand that a political resolution is only the first step. It will be followed by other steps that could lead to Lukashenka being arrested for violating international law. What he is doing is a war crime.
But the reality is that the next steps must also be taken at the international level. I believe that the facts that our team is gathering, among others, will be enough to issue an arrest warrant. The chances of that happening are quite high."
