\n The International Court of Justice said Tuesday it would hold genocide hearings on March 7 and 8 over the war in Ukraine, as fighting intensifies.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Hague-based ICJ, the United Nations' top court, will open the public hearings after Ukraine lodged a complaint with the court to order Russia to stop its invasion.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Ukraine,\" the court said in a statement.\n<\/p>\n
\n More than 660,000 people have already fled abroad, the UN refugee agency said, estimating that a million people are displaced within ex-Soviet Ukraine, which has a population of 44 million.\n<\/p>\n
\n The UN estimates that up to four million refugees may need help in the coming months and 12 million more will need assistance within the country.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ICJ, which is based in the Netherlands capital The Hague, does not have a mandate to bring criminal charges against individual Russian leaders behind the invasion.\n<\/p>\n
\n But it is the world's top court for resolving legal complaints between states over alleged breaches of international law.\n<\/p>\n
\n International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan had already announced he was launching an investigation on the \"situation in Ukraine\" following Russia's invasion.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine\" since 2014, Khan said in a statement Monday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Russia has defied international bans, boycotts and sanctions to press ahead with an offensive it says is aimed at defending Ukraine's Russian speakers and toppling the leadership.\n<\/p>\n
\n The United States trusts \"the Court is taking into consideration the dire circumstances and rapidly unfolding events,\" the State Department said in a statement Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Spokesman Ned Price said Washington hopes the court \"will act with utmost urgency on Ukraine's request for provisional measures\" in the hearing.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Each day that Russia is unconstrained in its aggression is a day that brings more violence, suffering, death, and destruction in Ukraine,\" he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The International Court of Justice said Tuesday it would hold genocide hearings on March 7 and 8 over the war in Ukraine, as fighting intensifies. The Hague-based ICJ, the United Nations' top court, will open the public hearings after Ukraine lodged a complaint with the court to order Russia to stop its invasion. \"The hearings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-88119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n