UN urges Kazakhstan to recognize the Rome Statute, facilitate arrest of Putin

The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court in The Hague / Collage: Kursiv.media, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

The UN has recommended Kazakhstan to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. If Kazakhstan adheres to its terms, Russian President Vladimir Putin could potentially be arrested in Kazakhstan under an ICC warrant.

«The Human Rights Foundation, Human Rights Watch and the Joint Submission 4 (a group of Kazakhstani non-governmental organizations) recommended [Kazakhstan] to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,» the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in a recent report.

The Rome Statute serves as the ICC’s charter, outlining its functions, structure and jurisdiction. The ICC is a permanent criminal justice body tasked with prosecuting those responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Putin’s first visit to a country that had signed the Rome Statute and recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction was to Mongolia in September 2024, but he was not arrested.