Council of Europe demands tribunal to try Russian, Belarusian leaders

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe unanimously called for an international war crimes tribunal as Russia continues to attack Ukraine.
The tribunal in The Hague should prosecute the political and military leaders of Russia and its ally Belarus who "planned, prepared, initiated or executed" the war of aggression on Ukraine, the assembly said on Thursday.
"Without their decision to wage this war of aggression against Ukraine, the atrocities that flow from it, as well as the destruction, death and damage resulting from the war, including from lawful acts of war, would not have occurred," the assembly said.
The plenary approved a resolution based on a report by Swiss parliamentarian Damien Cottier.
Such a tribunal should be "endorsed and supported by as many states and international organizations as possible, and in particular by the United Nations General Assembly," the assembly said.
The Council of Europe should take an active leadership role and provide concrete support, it said.
The Council of Europe is not an organ of the EU. It monitors respect for human rights in its 46 member states. Russia left the group last March.