Russian official sought by ICC to speak at UN meeting
Apr 05, 2023
A senior Russian official, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges, is set to virtually attend an informal UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
Ukraine accuses Russia of having abducted and forcibly deported more than 16,000 children since it began its invasion more than a year ago.
The ICC last month issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as his commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the matter.
Russia, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for the month of April, organized the Wednesday briefing by Lvova-Belova to provide "objective information on the situation of children in the conflict zone" in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and the measures taken to "evacuate the children from danger."
The United Kingdom expressed outrage that Lvova-Belova would be attending the meeting, saying that "if she wants to give an account of her actions, she can do so in The Hague."