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having regard to its previous resolutions and reports on Ukraine and Russia,

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having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

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having regard to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the additional protocols thereto,

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having regard to the Hague Conventions 1899 and 1907,

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having regard to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948 and the additional protocols thereto,

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having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 17 July 1998 and the Kampala Amendments of 2010 on the Crime of Aggression,

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having regard to the Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal (the Nuremberg principles) developed by the International Law Commission of the UN, which determine what constitutes a war crime,

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having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 1820 (2008) on sexual violence as a weapon of war and 1888 (2009) establishing the Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict,

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having regard to the definition of ‘rape’ during times of war, established in 1998 by the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia,

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having regard to the UN General Assembly resolutions of 2 March 2022 on the aggression against Ukraine and of 24 March 2022 on the humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine,

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having regard to the UN resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022 on the situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression, in which the council decided to establish an independent international commission of inquiry,

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having regard to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution of 28 April 2022 entitled ‘the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine: ensuring accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and other international crimes’,

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having regard to the Versailles Declaration of 11 March 2022,

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having regard to the visit of President Metsola to Ukraine on 1 April 2022 and her statement on the international war crimes being committed in Ukraine,

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having regard to the declaration by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU of 4 April 2022 on Russian atrocities committed in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns,

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having regard to the statement of the ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, of 2 March 2022 entitled ‘The situation in Ukraine: Receipt of Referrals from 39 States Parties and the Opening of an Investigation’,

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having regard to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) report of 13 April 2022 on violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022,

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having regard to the 2006 agreement between the International Criminal Court and the European Union on cooperation and assistance,

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having regard to Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/638 of 13 April 2022 amending Decision 2014/486/CFSP on the European Union Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) (1), which amended the mandate of EUAM Ukraine to provide support to the Ukrainian authorities and to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of any international crimes committed in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine,

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having regard to the Commission’s proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence relating to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes at Eurojust (COM(2022)0187),

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having regard to reports by Human Rights Watch on Ukraine of 3 April and 21 April 2022 and the report by Amnesty International of 6 May 2022,

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having regard to Rule 132(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas since 24 February 2022, when Russia started a new phase of the illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, its armed forces and its proxies have been conducting indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including abductions, extrajudicial executions, and torture in both the newly invaded and previously occupied areas of Ukraine;

B.

whereas thousands of people have lost their lives or been wounded, about 7,7 million Ukrainian citizens have been internally displaced and nearly 6 million have fled to neighbouring countries; whereas, according to the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, 400 000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 200 000 children, have been forcibly deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation since 24 February 2022; whereas Russian forces and their proxies have multiple times prevented the establishment of humanitarian corridors and thus blocked or obstructed the evacuation of the civilian population from the besieged territories;

C.

whereas the atrocities perpetrated by the Russian troops and their proxies reached a new low with the discovery on Sunday 3 April 2022 of the bodies of civilians lying on the streets of Bucha, a town inaccessible to the Ukrainian army for almost a month; whereas there are reports from a number of previously occupied Ukrainian towns, including Bucha, Irpen, Hostomel, Ivankiv, and from other places that have now been liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, of mass graves containing hundreds of persons, and of bodies of civilians found in the streets, including those of women, children and the elderly, some with their hands tied behind their back; whereas atrocities similar to the cases mentioned above are highly likely to occur regularly in Ukrainian towns and villages invaded and still occupied by Russia and its proxies, with the real extent of war crimes likely being much larger than has been documented to date;

D.

whereas numerous reports, complemented by photos and videos, document summary executions of civilians during the Russian occupation of villages and towns, arrests of civilians without due procedure and with ill-treatment that amounts to torture, cases of rape of civilians, including children, by the Russian armed forces and their proxies, and the use of unguided artillery, cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines during Russian attacks in populated areas; whereas sexual violence is used by Russia as weapon of war to break Ukrainian morale and as a form of torture in order to obtain confessions through rape, forced exposure and threats of sexual violence against children, women and men or their relatives; whereas rape as a war crime is the hardest crime to document in a manner that can be brought to court and will stand the test of trial; whereas victims of sexual war crimes may face multiple risks of discrimination and stigma, in addition to physical harm; whereas time is of crucial importance in collecting evidence and testimonies and in providing medical and psychological assistance to the victims of sexual violence;

E.

whereas Russian armed forces and their proxies have been detaining, abducting, kidnapping, targeting and killing journalists, mayors and human rights defenders; whereas journalists and media workers are protected under international humanitarian law by Article 79 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions; whereas according to the Council of Europe platform for the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, at least 10 Ukrainian and international media workers have been killed and many others wounded;

F.

whereas Russian armed forces and their proxies have been implicated in the looting of civilian property including food, clothing, household appliances, firewood and a large amount of grain, as well as in the battering of civilian infrastructures including those catering to the needs of vulnerable social groups, residential buildings, schools, nurseries and hospitals; whereas the Russian Federation’s armed forces and proxies have been systematically taking away pieces of art, artefacts and other objects of high cultural value; whereas Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing several hundred thousand tonnes of grain and the UN has confirmed that there is mounting evidence that Russian troops have looted stocks of Ukrainian grain and destroyed grain storage facilities, which has exacerbated the global food crisis and is contributing to a possible famine in Ukraine; whereas nearly 25 million tonnes of grain remain trapped in Ukraine due to the destruction of logistical infrastructure and the sea blockade by Russia; whereas the environmental and health impact of the war will also be devastating and long term;

G.

whereas the four Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I, to which Ukraine and the Russian Federation are state parties, establish that serious violations of international humanitarian law, together with grave breaches, constitute war crimes; whereas anyone who orders or commits such acts, or aids and abets them, is responsible for such crimes;

H.

whereas in November 2016, Russia withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute; whereas Ukraine is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, but has twice exercised its prerogatives to accept the ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute occurring on its territory, pursuant to Article 12(3) of the statute;

I.

whereas on 2 March 2022, the ICC Prosecutor announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the Situation in Ukraine on the basis of the referrals received from State Parties (2);

J.

whereas on 3 March 2022, Ukraine, with the support of 45 participating states, invoked the OSCE Moscow Mechanism to address the human rights violations and the humanitarian impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine;

K.

whereas in the first three months of the war, the Ukrainian prosecutor-general opened at least 9 300 investigations and identified hundreds of suspects from Russia for alleged war crimes, which include looting, murder, torture and rape;

L.

whereas governmental and international judicial bodies have initiated a series of accountability efforts, including the opening of a formal investigation by the ICC, as well as criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction by France, Germany, Lithuania, and Sweden;

M.

whereas on 4 March 2022 the UN Human Rights Council voted to create the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine with a mandate to investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; whereas the UN Security Council is paralysed over the situation in Ukraine owing to Russia’s ability to veto any substantive action;

N.

whereas on 25 March 2022, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine announced the creation of a Joint Investigative Team to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the support of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the participation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, as announced on 25 April 2022; whereas coordination between the investigations of the ICC and those of governmental bodies and other mechanisms is essential to bring justice swiftly;

O.

whereas the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in this situation, as neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation have ratified the Rome Statute and the amendments thereto related to the crime of aggression; whereas this gap should be addressed by setting up a special international tribunal, which would be mandated to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes of aggression committed against Ukraine by the political leaders and military commanders of Russia and its allies;

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