The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into war crimes committed in Ukraine. These are serious violations of international humanitarian law that include wilful killings, direct attacks on civilians and the targeting of civilian objects such as schools and hospitals, unlawful arrest or detention, torture and other cruel treatment of prisoners of war and others who have been captured, surrendered or wounded. Attacks that fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants or cause disproportionate harm to them are also war crimes.
Ethnic cleansing is a specific form of war crime and one of the gravest in terms of its impact on people and the nature of the punishment it attracts. The term was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, partly as a response to the Nazi policy of killing Jews and other members of particular groups, and later on became part of the legal vocabulary of international law.
Domestic courts are generally responsible for prosecuting war crimes, but this can be difficult or impossible during and in the aftermath of a conflict, for example when the regime that perpetrated the crimes still holds power or the judicial infrastructure is biased or compromised. For this reason, other institutions, including international, mixed and hybrid tribunals and the ICC are competent to judge such crimes, as well as to prosecute perpetrators, under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) implements Court-Ordered reparations to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. By providing physical, psychological and material assistance to help them return to a dignified life within their communities, the TFV promotes restorative justice and helps to achieve sustainable peace.
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