EU ambassadors have agreed to expand the mandate of Eurojust to collect and preserve evidence in the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine, according to the European institution,
KYIV. UkraineGate , 6 , May , 2022 | Ukraine News .
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“Today, the EU’s Permanent Representatives approved a mandate on new rules that will allow Eurojust to store, analyze and preserve evidence relating to major international crimes, such as war crimes,” the statement said.
“After Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, there is reason to believe that crimes against humanity and war crimes have taken place and are being committed in Ukraine. The EU will urgently take all necessary measures to bring to justice those who committed these crimes in Ukraine,” the EU added.
Details
It is noted that the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court and several member states, as well as in Ukraine, has launched an investigation into these events. “Coordination and exchange of evidence between prosecutors in different jurisdictions is important to ensure the effectiveness of these investigations. In addition, due to the ongoing hostilities, there is a risk that evidence related to war crimes may not be safe. to be stored on the territory of Ukraine, and therefore it is expedient to create a central storage facility in a safe place, “the EU Council said.
The draft of the new rules, as indicated, will allow Eurojust to:
- store evidence related to war crimes, including satellite images, photographs, videos, audio recordings, DNA profiles and fingerprints
- process and analyze this evidence in close cooperation with Europol and transmit it to relevant national and international bodies, including the International Criminal Court.
“Based on this position, it will now be necessary to reach an agreement with the European Parliament so that this regulation can be adopted and enter into force as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Before
In early March, all EU member states, together with other partner states, decided to collectively refer the case of Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. At the EU Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs on 4 March, ministers called on Eurojust to play its full coordinating role and, if necessary, to be available to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
In addition to the ICC prosecutor’s investigation, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has launched an investigation, and the authorities of several Member States have launched an investigation at the regional level. The Joint Investigation Team was also set up by the courts of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine with the support of Eurojust and with the participation of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office.
Source: Ukrgate
