On Wednesday, a senior Russian official who is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges will electronically attend an informal UN Security Council meeting.
Ukraine accuses Russia of kidnapping and forcibly deporting over 16,000 children since its invasion started more than a year ago.
The ICC issued an arrest order last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as his Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, in connection with the case.
Russia, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency in April, organized Lvova-Belova’s Wednesday briefing to provide “objective information on the situation of children in the conflict zone” in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and the measures taken to “evacuate the children from danger.”
The UK was outraged that Lvova-Belova would attend the meeting, saying that “if she wants to give an account of her actions, she can do so in The Hague.”
The UK statement went on to say that its team had successfully prevented the upcoming meeting from being broadcast on the UN website.
This sort of informal meeting, which can be organized by any Council member, takes place at UN headquarters but not in the Security Council chamber.
Vasily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN envoy, recently stated that the meeting on Wednesday was arranged “long before” the ICC issued its arrest warrants on March 17.
