Ukraine - Joint Communiqué issued by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice (11 Apr. 2022)

Following the discovery of mass acts of violence reported on Ukrainian territory in the areas previously occupied by Russian forces, in the city of Bucha in particular, France is resolutely committed alongside the Ukrainians, its international partners and the international courts to preventing impunity for intolerable acts constituting war crimes.

In accordance with President Macron’s instructions, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice are fully mobilized to lend practical support to the efforts deployed by the Ukrainian authorities and the international courts – the International Criminal Court, among others – as part of the investigations they have begun in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Following the violent acts committed in Bucha, an Interior Ministry technical team tasked with lending the Ukrainian authorities its identification and evidence-gathering expertise arrived in Ukraine this morning. In agreement with the Ukrainian authorities, it will also be able to contribute to the ICC investigation.

It is made up of two forensic scientists and around 15 gendarmes from the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN), crime-scene investigators and victim-identification experts. Among other things, they have got recognized expertise in ballistics, explosives, DNA sampling and processing, and fingerprinting. The team will be able to establish a process for examining and identifying bodies. Finally, it will deploy LabADN, a rapid, projectable genetic-testing system. The equipment has been developed by the IRCGN.

As a reminder, France is also supporting the International Criminal Court by sending two judges and 10 investigators and making an exceptional extra financial contribution of €500,000, in addition to the annual funding it provides for its regular operations.

Finally, as holder of the presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the next few days in Brussels France will be promoting an initiative aimed at coordinating contributions by Member States and EU agencies, Europol and Eurojust among others, to bring to light and investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Faced with such atrocities, France, true to its values, will not look the other way.