ICC’s Rome Statute invalid in Kazakhstan, says official

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is not valid in Kazakhstan because the country has not signed it.

The statement came from the Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov, TASS reports.

"We have not signed or ratified the Rome Statute. The statute does not apply to Kazakhstan, and we have no obligations under it," TASS reports.

The ICC is organised under the 1998 Rome Statute, to which 123 countries are signatories. This includes all 27 EU countries. The court's jurisdiction is not recognised by Russia, as well as the US and China. Article 63 of the ICC Rome Statute does not allow for trials in absentia. Member states of the Rome Statute are obliged to enforce the warrant.

On March 17, the ICC issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Russian children's rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. The court considers them "allegedly responsible for war crimes relating to the illegal deportation of the population (of children)" from Ukraine. Germany, Armenia and Austria have already confirmed their commitment to comply with the ICC decisions. The Kremlin is unhappy with Armenia's position.