Crimes are committed by people, not abstract entities: ICC Prosecutor Khan on Russian Federation tribunal

He said this during the United for Justice international conference in Lviv, Ukrinform reports.

"We see many statements about various violations: torture of prisoners of war, accusations of sexual and gender crimes, targeted shelling... The destruction of a maternity hospital and a theater in Mariupol, the destruction of electricity sources... We are documenting testimonies and collecting evidence," Khan emphasized.

He spoke about visiting an orphanage in eastern Ukraine: "I looked at the empty cribs with little shoes next to them, and outerwear hanging on hangers, collected by people who wanted the children to have a better future. And I was struck by the photos on the wall that you can see in any school in any country in the world – or in the bedrooms of our own little children, photos from last Christmas... And instead of this joyful presence of children, there was the silence of the accusations we received that children were deported outside of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation."

Khan informed that his office, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), and national authorities are receiving more and more reports of crimes committed by the aggressor in Ukraine. In this regard, he added that there is no such thing as too much evidence, but it is necessary to ensure that it is collected properly.

It is important to remember the Nuremberg Tribunal

The ICC prosecutor noted that it is important to remember the Nuremberg Tribunal, which determined that crimes against international law are committed by people, not abstract entities. And only by punishing the perpetrators of such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced.

According to him, civil society organizations "are very often our first partners who are in very difficult and very dangerous places in Ukraine. So together we have developed guidelines for civil society organizations to make sure that we collect and document evidence, realizing that it should be as useful as possible for judges who will hear the cases in the proper manner."

"The cooperation not only with the JIT, but also, in my opinion, with the Prosecutor General is really incredible. And I want to thank you and your team for the excellent cooperation with me personally and with my team members who were here. And we were here continuously, constantly present at the crime scenes," Khan summarized