Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, tried on Wednesday to rally support for the court. The court has said it would investigate possible war crimes in Georgia — which is a member of the court — by all parties, including Russian armed forces. The court is the world’s first international tribunal with permanent jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Vladimir Frolov, a scholar of international relations, called Russia’s move a “symbolic gesture” prompted by Ms. Bensouda’s report on Crimea. “At the time when Russia signed the Rome Statute in 2000, it wanted to be a part of the modern world,” he said.

Source: New York Times November 16, 2016 18:36 UTC