Who Can Hold Russia Accountable?
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Slate Podcasts
4.3 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2022
⏱️ 27 minutes
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Summary
In a speech before the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of the worst war crimes since World War II. But whether there will be accountability on the international stage is a separate question—especially with Russia sitting permanently on the UN Security Council.
How difficult would it be to prove war crimes have in fact been committed in Ukraine? And even if they were, would Putin ever actually be punished?
Guest: Stephen Rapp, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice under President Obama.
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Transcript
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| 0:26.9 | Slack.com slash DHQ. |
| 0:35.9 | Good morning everyone. The 9,000 and 10th meeting of the Security Council is called to order. |
| 0:45.9 | When the UN Security Council gathered earlier this week, their agenda was Ukraine. |
| 0:50.9 | I now give the floor to his excellency Mr. Velotimiya Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. |
| 0:57.9 | You have the floor, sir. |
| 1:00.9 | Velotimiya Zelensky appeared remotely. |
| 1:03.9 | Duretia, don't know the name. |
| 1:08.9 | And like usual, he came prepared with a video presentation. But the images he shared this time |
| 1:15.9 | were grimmer than ever, shocking, really. They were pictures of what or who was left behind |
| 1:22.9 | when Russian soldiers abandoned their posts outside Kiev. There were images of bodies scattered |
| 1:27.9 | on concrete or hastily buried. Some had their hands tied. Others were burned. |
| 1:33.9 | For Zelensky, these kinds of pictures demanded action. |
| 1:37.9 | Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? Do you think that the time of international law is gone? |
| 1:44.9 | If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately. |
| 1:49.9 | Zelensky's whole speech seemed to focus on getting the UN Security Council to label Russia's actions |
| 1:55.9 | with two important words, war crimes. |
| 1:59.9 | The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately |
... |
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