Ukraine's Foreign Minister says ratifying the Rome Statute won't harm Ukraine

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, spoke out in favour of Ukraine ratifying the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

Source: Kuleba, during an Instagram interview with Vadym Karpiak, a Ukrainian journalist

Quote from Kuleba: "We definitely have to ratify [the Rome Statute]. All these conjectures that it will somehow inflict damage on Ukraine itself are merely prejudices." 

Details: Kuleba stressed that Ukraine "fully recognises the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court", even without having ratified the Rome Statute as of yet.

"And this is something we must bear in mind. Because anyone who says that our failure to ratify the statute is an obstacle to Ukraine’s cooperation with the ICC is lying," he added.

Background: On 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Affairs.

There are 123 states parties to the Rome Statute, including [many] South American states and about half of African states. They are required to abide by the warrants issued by the ICC. China, India, Belarus, Turkey, and Kazakhstan, amongst others, have not signed or ratified the statute. Russia, along with the United States, signed the statute, but later withdrew its signature.

Ukraine is not yet a party to the Rome Statute, the international agreement on the basis of which the International Criminal Court was established and operates, but it has granted the ICC permission to investigate crimes on its territory. 

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