“Ukraine is, today, a slaughterhouse. Right in the heart of Europe,” said Ms. Amal Clooney, addressing the United Nations on accountability for war crimes in Ukraine. In her speech she also drew parallels between the recent massacre of civilians in Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv by Russian forces, and the Houla massacre in Syria in May 2012.
She went on to emphasize that while the international response to the war in Ukraine has been unprecedented, the world, and the UN, could have done more to prevent this and other wars.
Ms. Clooney is part of the legal Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine and was asked by Ukraine’s government to provide advice on accountability, also called for governments to take “concrete steps towards justice” for Ukraine, showing clear and unequivocal support for the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction and “making your country a hostile environment for war criminals” and welcoming to refugees.
The Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine is a pro bono international group of lawyers established on 29 March 2022 to help Ukrainian prosecutors coordinate legal cases for war crimes and other crimes related to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Her address can be seen in its entirety here.
For a transcript of the full speech, click here.
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