International justice for Russia must be delivered regardless of content of any peace agreement — Matviichuk

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Russia will not agree to any peace agreement that includes accountability for its war crimes, so human rights defenders must work on developing new international institutions and placing the issue of justice into a separate track.

This view was expressed by human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk in a comment to Ukrinform on the sidelines of the Ukraine. Breath of Freedom festival.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that Russia will never sign any peace agreement that includes a clause on holding Russia itself accountable. But the key point is that the agreement must not contain blanket amnesty. We need to establish justice as a separate, parallel track,” she said.

According to Matviichuk, the International Criminal Court will not halt investigations or withdraw arrest warrants regardless of what is written in a peace agreement.

“We must concentrate our efforts now and create several more such international institutions, including the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression. When it becomes operational, it will consider cases in line with its mandate and based on collected evidence, regardless of what the peace agreement contains. And such international crimes have no statute of limitations. This means that no matter how much time passes, when a window of opportunity emerges, these individuals will stand before a court,” Matviichuk explained.

Read also: Ukraine at OSCE: Russia preparing for long war, not for peace

She believes that achieving justice is the only way to break the chain of impunity for Russians and prevent further aggression, possibly against another country.

“We have a major opportunity to bring justice into a separate track. And we, Ukrainian human rights defenders, want to use this opportunity to maximum effect,” she added.

As reported by Ukrinform, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra stated that final decisions on establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine are at the concluding stage.