Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Accepted
Paragraph: 89
Identify mechanisms to prosecute the Wagner Network using support to Ukraine's Prosecutor General.
Recommendation
The UK Government should use its significant support to the Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine to identify mechanisms to prosecute the Wagner Network. A prosecution in this theatre would serve to help deter the sense of impunity abroad.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on holding Wagner accountable, detailing its support for the International Criminal Court and the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group in Ukraine, including £2.5 million for domestic investigations. It commits to continuing support for prosecuting atrocity crimes by Wagner fighters in Ukraine.
Paragraph Reference:
89
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Agree. We agree on the importance of holding Wagner to account for its actions. In some areas, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an existing authority to investigate situations where Wagner is present (including Mali and Central African Republic) and Wagner’s activities are within scope of that investigation. This also applies to Wagner fighters in Ukraine. The ICC deals with individual criminal responsibility. The Government is a firm supporter of the ICC, providing additional voluntary contributions to its Trust Funds above our annual budget contribution. The UK’s efforts to strengthen the accountability of Wagner fighters in Ukraine also include setting up the Atrocity Crimes Advisory (ACA) Group, through which the UK co-ordinates its support to the Ukrainian domestic legal system. The UK has so far provided £2.5 million to support domestic investigations in Ukraine, including work through the ACA Group, which covers areas such as funding mobile evidence-gathering teams and providing training in international humanitarian law to the Ukrainian judiciary and national police. We will continue to support work to prosecute individuals for atrocity crimes in Ukraine, including Wagner fighters. The UK has consistently called out the Wagner group’s actions in statements in the UN Security Council, such as regarding Libya in 2020, CAR in 2021 and Mali in 2022. We have made statements at the Human Rights Council (HRC) calling for perpetrators of abuses to be held to account, such as at UN HRC52 on Mali and at UN HRC53 on CAR. We will continue to work with our international partners to look for opportunities at multilateral forums to call out human rights violations and abuses and call for perpetrators to be held to account.