The meeting of the Federal Minister of Justice, Dr Marco Buschmann, with his counterparts from the G7 countries came to an end this afternoon. It was the first gathering of its kind in the history of the G7.
The focus of the meeting was on investigations into the crimes against international law committed in Ukraine. In the course of fruitful discussions, the G7 Justice Ministers agreed on concrete measures to improve the coordination of investigations in the Berlin Declaration.
Also present at the meeting were European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A.A. Khan.
In times of war, the law refuses to be silenced.
Remarks on the outcome of today’s meeting by Federal Justice Minister Dr Marco Buschmann:
“A historic meeting has come to an end. Today marked the very first time that the justice ministers convened in the G7 format. We are here because Putin’s criminal war of aggression against Ukraine has catapulted us into a new age. We are responding to historic injustice with unity and resolve.
We will coordinate our investigations into international crimes at national and international level as seamlessly as possible. Because ultimately, we must not allow even a single offender to evade our reach. That is why, to ensure that our words are immediately followed by actions, we agreed on the Berlin Declaration today. Among other measures, we will ensure that each state has a central national contact point for the prosecution of international crimes. In this way, we will enhance coordination among states investigating war crimes.
Judicial examination of the atrocities committed in Ukraine will take years, perhaps even decades. But we will be well prepared – and we will persist for as long as it takes. I will seek to ensure that another meeting of the G7 Justice Ministers takes place next year. War crimes must not go unpunished: no matter where they are committed, no matter who commits them. It is our duty to keep this promise. Today, we took an important step toward fulfilling that duty.”
The full text of the Berlin Declaration adopted today by the G7 Justice Ministers can be accessed here
Images from today’s meeting are available via the following link and can be used free of charge by citing the BMJ/photothek copyright:
www.photothek.de/upload/4j1BE8kcoE.
