Commenting on Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia, Altantuya Batdorj, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mongolia, said:

“Mongolia’s international legal obligations are clear as a member state of the International Criminal Court.

“They must arrest President Putin and hand him over to the ICC to face charges of war crimes.

“President Putin is a fugitive from justice. Any trip to an ICC member state that does not end in arrest will encourage President Putin’s current course of action and must be seen as part of a strategic effort to undermine the ICC’s work to prosecute suspected war criminals.

“If the Mongolian authorities fail to arrest him, they will have done nothing but give succour to a man who is accused by the ICC of being responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children, but is also potentially responsible for a plethora of other war crimes and crimes against humanity in a conflict that has shattered the lives of millions and destroyed the hopes and aspirations of a generation.

“To shelter a fugitive from international justice would not only amount to obstruction of justice. If Mongolia provides even a temporary safe haven for President Putin, it will effectively become an accomplice in ensuring impunity for some of the most serious crimes under international law.”

Arrest warrants for Putin

Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia at the invitation of President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh is Putin’s first visit to an ICC member state since the arrest warrant was issued in March 2023. He is accused of war crimes of unlawful transfer and deportation of a population (children) under Article 8 of the Rome Statute. In July 2023, a South African High Court ordered Vladimir Putin’s arrest if he attended the BRICS summit, but he did not travel. Amnesty South Africa had supported the court case, emphasising the obligation to arrest him. In March and June, the ICC issued further arrest warrants against Russian military officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.