Human Rights Now Welcomes the Issuing of Warrants of Arrestby the ICC against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova
Human Rights Now (HRN) welcomes and supports the decision within the International
Criminal Court (ICC) to issue warrants of arrest on 17 March 2023 for the President of Russia,
Vladimir Putin, and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for thealleged war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas ofUkraine to Russia.1The warrants charge both Putin Lvova-Belova and with individual criminal responsibility forcommitting the unlawful deportations jointly with or through others, as well as in Putin’s casethe further charge, as a superior and/or commander, of failing to prevent subordinates under hiscontrol from committing the deportations.2 In approving the Prosecutor’s application to issue thewarrants, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II found “reasonable grounds to believe” the charges.3
Under the ICC’s Rome Statute, the unlawful deportation or transfer of civilians is forbidden andconstitutes a war crime.4 In this regard, children are particularly vulnerable and enjoy special
protection under the Geneva Convention.5 To date, it has been reported that more than 19,500
Ukrainian children orphaned or separated from their families by the conflict have been forcibly
deported from Ukraine and transported to Russian territory.6 It has also been reported that theRussian government is holding at least 1,400 Ukrainian children it describes as “orphans” andthat at least 400 Ukrainian children have been taken in by Russian families, some in exchange
for payment from the government, with another 1,000 waiting for adoption. 7 Lvova-Belova
herself claimed to have adopted a 15-year-old child from Mariupol in a television interview.8 We
1

International Criminal Court (ICC), “Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Vladimir
Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova”, Press Release: 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.icccpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and; ICC,
“Statement by President Piotr Hofmański”, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbKhCAaRLfc.
2
Individual responsibility is covered under article 25(3)(a) of the ICC’s Rome Statute, and superior or command
responsibility under article 28(b). Rome Statute of the ICC, 2187 U.N.T.S. 90, entered into force July 1, 2002.
3
The Pre-Trial Chamber II concluded that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears
responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of populationfrom occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.” The Chamber alsodecided to publically disclose the warrant and its details given the ongoing nature of the violations. Situation inUkraine, supra, note 1.
4
Rome Statute of the ICC, Art 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii).
5ICC, “Statement by President Piotr Hofmański”, 17 Mar 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbKhCAaRLfc.
6"Children of war", https://childrenofwar.gov.ua/en/; Le Monde, “Russian policy of deporting Ukrainian children
under investigation by ICC”, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/03/05/russianpolicy-of-deporting-ukrainian-children-under-investigation-by-icc_6018196_4.html.
7
The Guardian, “Putin’s alleged war crimes: who are the Ukrainian children being taken by Russia?”, 17 Mar. 2023,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/17/vladimir-putin-war-crimes-icc-arrest-warrant-ukraine-children; El
Deeb, Shvets, and Tilna, "How Moscow grabs Ukrainian kids and makes them Russians", AP News, 17 Mar. 2023,
https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6.
8
Guardian, id., referencing a clip of the interview at https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1626203290986741760.

are deeply concerned with these serious allegations, many of which are reportedly supported by
the Russian government’s own statements and records.
While an important step towards accountability, the warrants represent only a fraction of theunlawful conduct perpetrated against the Ukrainian people. In March 2023, the Human Rights
Council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported extensive
evidence of grave violations by Russian forces in Ukraine including alleged war crimes andcrimes against humanity such as willful killings, attacks on civilians and indiscriminate anddisproportionate uses of explosive weapons in populated areas (the main cause of civilian deaths),
unlawful confinement, torture, rape and other sexual violence, and unjustified destruction ofcivilian infrastructure including energy-related infrastructure, in addition to the forced transfersand deportations of children.9 Allegations of genocide have also been brought to the International
Court of Justice by the government of Ukraine against the government of Russia. 10 HRN
supports further investigations by relevant and independent authoritative bodies, including theICC, into all alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations by Russian forcesin Ukraine as a basis for future accountability.
We call on member states to the ICC, particularly those historically reluctant to cooperate, toobserve the warrants of arrest and their obligations under the Rome Statute by detaining Putin
and Lvova-Belova, should either individual enter their territory, and by cooperating with theICC’s process. In particular, the Republic of South Africa should refrain from hosting Putin atthe BRICS summit in August 2023 and should be wary of repeating its historical disregard for
ICC warrants. 11 We further call on the international community to cooperate to achieve
accountability for all war crimes and other international crimes committed during Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.

9OHCHR, "Press Release: War crimes, indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure, systematic and widespread tortureshow disregard for civilians, says UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine", 16 Mar. 2023,
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/war-crimes-indiscriminate-attacks-infrastructure-systematic-andwidespread; OHCHR, "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine", A/HRC/52/62,
15 Mar. 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiukraine/A_HRC_
52_62_AUV_EN.pdf; also see BBC News, “Ukraine conflict: What war crimes is Russia accused of?”, 17 Mar.
2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60690688; BBC News, “Anatomy of an attack: Is Russia using cluster
bombs in Ukraine?”, 3 Mar. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/60591017.
10
ICJ, "Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide(Ukraine v. Russian Federation: Latest Developments", https://www.icj-cij.org/case/182.
11
Daily Maverick, “Vladimir Putin in South Africa: A diplomatic and legal dilemma for the government”, 3 April
2023, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-04-03-vladimir-putin-in-south-africa-a-diplomatic-and-legaldilemma-for-the-government/.