Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday to withdraw Russia from the International Criminal Court, which rules on such grave charges as genocide and crimes against humanity.
Russia in 2000 signed the Rome treaty that established the Hague-based court but never ratified it.
Putin’s decree, published on the Kremlin’s website, comes a day after the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolution condemning Russia’s “temporary occupation of Crimea” and blamed Russia for rights abuses such as discrimination against some Crimean residents, such as Tatars.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 from Ukraine following a hastily called referendum, a move that led to crippling Western sanctions. A separatist insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine the following month, backed by Russia.
The ICC on Monday issued a preliminary report where it described what happened in Crimea as “an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”
His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, explained the withdrawal by “national interests” and argued that since Russia never ratified it Wednesday’s decree was just a formality. Peskov also dismissed the ICC’s accusations of an “armed conflict” in Crimea, arguing that Crimea joined Russia after a legitimate popular vote.
Russia’s foreign ministry insisted in a statement that Russia wants everyone implicated in grave international crimes to face justice but expressed frustration over the court’s work in recent years.
“The court has unfortunately failed to match the hopes one had and did not become a truly independent and respected body of international justice,” the ministry said, adding that in the ICCs’ 14 years of work “only four verdicts” have been passed while $1 billion was spent on expenses.
Just hours before Russia’s announcement, the U.N. human rights chief made a spirited defense of the ICC, entreating countries not to leave it. Several African nations have recently announced plans to leave the treaty.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
LOL … the UN is losing its grip. Ditto for the IMF … Could it be that the Lex Luther’s of the world are falling off of their pedestals?
It appears, nations, worldwide, are declaring their Sovereignty. I hope American will wean ourselves of the UN and their NWO strangleholds as well.
I was under the understanding that decades ago the United Nations drew a map of the countries of the world , and said it would be against international law for any country to take another country over. I guess that Russia was not a signor of this U.N. law? What country has the United States taken over, after all the wars since WW1 ?
Crimea is a peninsula and it always has been a Russian Navel base, administration only of Crimea was handed to Ukraine by a Ukrainian president of the old Soviet union in order to create work in the Ukraine. The entire bullshit of a Ukraine revolution was the result of a George Soros/United Nation conceived funded undermining of the Russian Federation. Soros has already admitted it on public TV. If you followed the farce you would have noticed all the placards held by persons at the so called uprising were printed in English. Less than 1% of ukrainians speak English and fewer still can read English. What you are seeing is a New World Order manipulation of public opinion by the US president, and his biggest funder George Soros who has sworn to crush America. He runs the United Nations where he made his billions via the Maurice Strong Al gore Global Warming scam who in 2003 predicted Miami would be under 7 meters of sea water by 2007. Now it has become climate change, caused by carbon emissions, utter drivel, there is more deadly gas released by humans and cows the cars, they produced CO2, plants require co2 to survive. Everything including the planet is carbon based. Shut the UN, the fed, IMF. world bank, Bank of international acceptances, Rothschilds, Rockerfellers, Clintons, Bushes, George Soros & see a return to a productive world where we punish criminals not give them food stamps.