There can be no peace without justice, the minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu, said on Tuesday, in the context of her participation in the „Restoring Justice for Ukraine” conference in The Hague.

According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) sent to AGERPRES, during the meeting, the head of Romanian diplomacy highlighted Romania’s consistent position of using all instruments of international law to bring to justice those guilty of the aggression against Ukraine, including through concrete steps before international legal courts: the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.

„It is imperative that we send together a strong and united message for justice and accountability. There can be no peace without justice and we must not stop or reduce our efforts to pursue and achieve this objective”, the Romanian chief diplomat said.

At the end of her intervention, the minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that „the efficiency of our approach for justice and accountability for Ukraine depends, to a large extent, on our support, determination and coherence in action”. Therefore, she encouraged the intensification of dialogue and international collaboration „in all possible formats”.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Romanian minister of Foreign Affairs had bilateral talks with her counterparts from Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Romanian authorities have taken constant actions in order to support the efforts to hold Russia accountable for the aggression against Ukraine and for its consequences, using, in this sense, the instruments of international law and the specific institutional framework of international justice.

Thus, Romania was among the states that, on March 2, 2022, notified the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requesting the investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in the context of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine. During 2022, Romania offered a voluntary financial contribution, worth 100,000 euros, to the ICC Trust Fund intended to support the activities of the Prosecutor’s Office, in the context of investigations in Ukraine for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide .

Also, Romania is part of the group which is working to identify the most suitable legal methods for the establishment, as soon as possible, of a special Court for sanctioning the crime of aggression committed in Ukraine.

To the same extent, Romania submitted a declaration of intervention in the proceedings initiated by Ukraine against the Russian Federation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), having as its object the dispute related to accusations of genocide based on the Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Genocide. At the same time, Romania submitted a declaration of intervention in the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation pending before the European Court of Human Rights regarding the human rights violations committed by Russia, in the context of the aggression against Ukraine.

Romania participates in the joint investigation team regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of the military attack on Ukraine, established with the support of Eurojust.

Romania also participates in the Extended Partial Agreement on the Register of damage caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, established by Resolution CM/Res(2023)3, adopted by the Ministers’ Committee of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, on May 12, 2023.

AGERPRES