Interview

Officials carry bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 19, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. The bodies will be examined by forensic officials for possible war crimes. © Paula Bronstein /Getty Images

Ukraine Pursues Genocide Charges

Although the term is currently often used in international politics, the legal complexities are huge.

2 Apr 24

Ukrainian Marines drive a T-80 tank across a thawing field on February 15, 2023 in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian troops all across the country's east in a winter offensive. © John Moore/Getty Images

Prosecuting the Crime of Aggression

Some states are backing the establishment of a special court to reflect that this crime is one that impacts the global order.

26 Mar 24

Oksana, 47-year-old, speaks to journalists next to a destroyed Russian tank in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv. © GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images

Project Sunflowers

With the support of volunteers in 19 countries, testimony is being collected in a secure database to be used in future justice processes.

19 Mar 24

Family members attend the funeral of brother and sister Oleksandr and Iryna Hodak at a cemetery on October 09, 2023 in Hroza, Ukraine. On October 5 a Russian missile strike killed 52 people in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk. Officials say one-fifth of the village died in the attack on civilians gathering at a wake in a cafe and shop. © Diego Fedele/Getty Images

“Success is the Establishment of Trust”

Kyiv-based centre coordinating assistance for victims and witnesses helps them navigate legal complexities, social rehabilitation and intense trauma.

27 Feb 24

Ukraine's Chernihiv District Court in session. © Irina Domashchenko

The Challenge of In Absentia Trials

Procedures must be impeccably transparent, given international concerns about national courts’ impartiality during an armed conflict.

20 Feb 24

Grave diggers shovel soil into the grave of a woman as her husband and son watch on April 20, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Hundreds of Ukrainians killed in the Russian invasion in Bucha have been laid to rest in the cemetery. © John Moore/Getty Images

Universal Jurisdiction: a Key Tool for Accountability

Germany is at the forefront of prosecuting war crimes under the principle; the hope is that more countries will follow.

6 Feb 24

Forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 23, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. A total of 447 bodies was exhumed from the gravesite, including 22 soldiers and 5 children, and the bodies will be examined for possible war crimes. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Key Challenges in Prosecuting War Crimes

International advisor highlights need to appoint more judges and advance legal reforms to expedite judicial processes.

19 Dec 23

A woman holds her dog while being evacuated from her home due to Russian invasion on March 06, 2023 in Kupiansk, Ukraine. © John Moore/Getty Images

A Victim-Centred Approach to Prosecuting Sexual Violence

Ukraine is implementing dedicated policies including safeguarding and psychological assistance.

12 Dec 23

Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT).

Integrating OSINT into Justice Processes

A Bellingcat initiative explores the admissibility and weight of open source evidence in the prosecution of war crimes.

5 Dec 23

Police record human remains as forensic experts and war crimes prosecution teams exhume a burial site containing the bodies of six civilians that were executed by Russian forces in the yard of a house in the town of Pravdyne on the outskirts of Kherson on November 28, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. © Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Torture, Sexual Violence, Murder: Investigating War Crimes in Kherson

One year after its de-occupation, investigators continue to record thousands of war crime cases amid continuous shelling.

14 Nov 23

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