The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday called for the creation of a special international court to try the political and military leadership of Russia and Belarus for war crimes in Ukraine.

This international court, which will be based in The Hague, should try the leaders of Russia and Belarus, who “planned, prepared, unleashed and waged” the war, the text of the CSCE resolution says.

“If they had not decided to start this aggressive war against Ukraine, there would have been no atrocities, destruction, death and destruction (…),” the text states.

The plenary session unanimously approved the resolution based on the report of the Swiss parliamentarian Damien Cottier.

According to the CSCE, a special international court should receive “the support of as many states as possible and as many international organizations as possible, especially the General Assembly of the United Nations.” The Council of Europe must take the lead in these efforts, the resolution says.

The European Parliament also voted for a similar decision a few days ago.

The Council of Europe, an international organization with no organic ties to the EU, is responsible for human rights oversight in its 46 member states.

Russia withdrew from its ranks in March.

Source: RES-IPE