Members of the European Parliament have called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko for his role in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The deputies emphasized that Belarus, as an accomplice of Russia, is responsible for the damage caused to Ukraine in connection with the war, so the EU must ensure the prosecution of the political and military leadership of the republic involved in genocide and crimes against humanity.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling the deportation of Ukrainian children genocide.
"Since the ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, MEPs call on the court to consider issuing a similar arrest warrant for Alexander Lukashenko," the report says.
The deputies also consider it necessary to expand the list of sanctions against Belarusians and Russians to include persons involved in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
Since September 2022, 2,150 Ukrainian children over the age of six have been deported to camps in Belarus, and by the fall of this year, their number could rise to 3,000, the Telegraph reports.
The head of the Belarusian opposition group National Anti-Crisis Management, Pavel Latushko, said that Lukashenka was primarily responsible for this forced displacement, as he personally gave instructions on organizing the financing of these processes.