Smith chairs first hearing in House on holding ‘war criminal’ Putin to account

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today chaired the first hearing in the House of Representatives to hold Russia accountable for its barbaric invasion of Ukraine, pressing for the prosecution of Vladimir Putin and others for their war crimes and crime of aggression against the Ukrainian people and nation.

Smith’s hearing follows new legislation he authored and introduced last night urging the creation of appropriate regional or global justice mechanisms to immediately investigate and prosecute Putin and those responsible within the Russian Federation as “war criminals.”

“Today, as the death tolls dramatically increases by the hour and as more than 1.3 million Ukrainians flee their homes since the invasion—with estimates by the UNHCR of up to 4 million people eventually fleeing—the need is immediate to hold Putin and Russian officials to account,” said Rep. Smith, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC).

“Putin—and others responsible for this ongoing and ever-expanding mass murder, war crimes and crimes against humanity—must be prosecuted for their crimes,” said Smith.

“The time to act for justice and accountability is now,” Smith said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Entitled “Accountability for Russia’s War Crimes and Aggression against Ukraine,” the TLHRC hearing examined viable options for accountability for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine—the largest and most lethal attack in Europe since World War II.

The hearing featured testimony from a panel of expert witnesses—including David Kramer, Managing Director of Global Policy for the George W. Bush Institute and former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; David Crane, Founding Chief Prosecutor for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone; and Dr. Jane Stromseth, the Former Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. State Department.

Calling the current situation in Ukraine the “gravest crisis in Europe since WWII,” David Kramer emphasized the importance of swift and united action(s) by the international community. “The refrain ‘never again’ emerged in the wake of the Holocaust, and Ukrainians are wondering whether that pledge applies to them,” said Kramer.

David Crane spoke of the need for global “leadership” to “bring the world together” and called for “a tribunal that has an appropriate mandate.” “Strongmen around the world are watching, like crocodiles, as to what we do about the international crimes committed by the Russian invasion of the Ukraine,” said Crane.

“Let’s go and put some bad guys in jail, shall we?” Crane said.

Dr. Jane Stromseth said that “international law is on our side…the question now is how the international community will respond.”

Stromseth added that “failure to stand up to those who order and commit such crimes will only embolden their sense of impunity” and emphasized “a strategy of mutually reinforcing accountability—that is, accountability through multiple complementary mechanisms grounded in the fundamental principles of international law.”

Whichever mechanism proves to be most effective at holding Putin accountable, Smith said “we’ll find a way to get it done.”

“Failure to do so would be gross negligence,” said Smith.