Experts believe that New Zealand should increase efforts to investigate the deaths of aid workers
The deaths of two aid workers in Ukraine have ignited a debate among experts and the families of the victims. The New Zealand government has stated that it will not investigate whether the death of two aid workers, one of whom was a New Zealander, in Ukraine’s Soledar region a year ago might be potentially considered a war crime. However, experts argue that more needs to be done and the families of the victims are pushing for the New Zealand and UK governments to send their own investigators to Kyiv. The parents of the victims, Dame Sue and Professor Phil Bagshaw, were initially informed that their son Andrew and British man Christopher Parry were trying to rescue an elderly woman when their vehicle was hit by an artillery shell. Post-mortem results later revealed that both men had died from gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of the body. Under the terms of the Geneva Convention, intentionally killing a civilian in an armed conflict constitutes a war crime. The Bagshaws believe that evidence points to the pair being shot by the Wagner Group, a private military company under Russian state control. The Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs has condemned the killings but has announced that it will not conduct further investigations. “In the current situation, the ICC [International Criminal Court] and Ukraine authorities are best placed to pursue any further investigation including obtaining evidence,” the Ministry stated. Similarly, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated that it does not investigate war crimes and any further investigation is the responsibility of Ukrainian authorities.
Once again, Phil Bagshaw has indicated that he had spoken to one Ukrainian investigator who already has over 10,000 war crimes cases to deal with. Similarly, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it does not investigate war crimes and that any further investigation is for Ukrainian authorities. Robert Patman, a professor of International Relations from the University of Otago, believes that New Zealand and the UK could work together to investigate the deaths and demonstrate their seriousness about war crimes. Dr. Marnie Lloyd, a specialist in the law of armed conflict at Victoria University of Wellington, suggests that under international humanitarian law, countries must help facilitate war crimes investigations, even if they did not occur in their territory. She also indicated that if Ukrainian authorities agreed, New Zealand or UK officials could travel there to help investigate the deaths as part of a broader ICC case against Wagner Group members.
Investigators from various countries have gone to Ukraine to help with the work of the ICC, but support from NZ and the UK has been minimal, limited to funding prosecutions. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said last year it was looking into 100,000 allegations of war crimes committed by Russia, with numbers rising steadily as the conflict continues.
