The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has informed this Tuesday the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, that Spain will provide this international organization with 620,000 euros to finance investigations into the war in Ukraine.
In a telephone conversation with the prosecutor, the minister explained that Spain will contribute 540,000 euros to the Trust Fund created ‘ad hoc’ by the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen all the investigations which, at the moment, are focused on the war in Ukraine. In addition, it will contribute nearly 80,000 euros to the Victims Trust Fund.
These amounts are in addition to Spain’s contribution as a member of the tribunal, which amounts to 6.184 million euros each year. Spain’s additional disbursement to this fund comes after Albares pledged to increase financial support to the ICC at the United Nations General Assembly last September in New York, which now translates into this increase in the initial allocation.
The ambassador representing Spain at the ICC, Consuelo Femenía, plans to announce the Spanish contributions during the Assembly of member states of the international organization that began yesterday and closes today in The Hague. On the occasion of this meeting, the representative of Spain will sign a judicial cooperation agreement developing the procedure that allows those convicted by the ICC to serve their sentences in Spanish territory.
These efforts are in line with Spain’s objective to fight against impunity for crimes against the Ukrainian population. Last November Albares travelled to Kiev accompanied by a team of forensic experts from the National Police and the Guardia Civil who will work on the ICC investigations.
