So, three Ukrainian women who left Ukraine for Germany with their children because of the war decided to go to the Netherlands for a few days to visit a friend. This friend is also an externally displaced person who evacuated from Kharkiv in the spring of 2022.

The group are going on an excursion to the Peace Palace in The Hague, about a forty-five minute train ride southwest from Amsterdam. It is the location of the International Court of Justice and, during the tour, they learn some interesting facts:

1. At the 1st and 2nd Peace Conferences in The Hague in 1899 and 1907, respectively, international conventions on the laws and customs of war were adopted, and were included in the body of international humanitarian law.

2. The initiator of the peace conferences was Nicholas II Alexandrovich Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, the last all-Russian emperor, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was nicknamed ‘Bloody’ for the Khodyn tragedy. He started the war with Japan and defeated them. The Russian Empire joined the First World War during his reign. And two revolutions took place when he was in power (1905-1907 and 1917). As a result of the latter, Nicholas II abdicated. In 1918 he was shot by the Bolsheviks.

3. The Peace Palace is the official residence of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

4. The Peace Palace was built between 1907 and 1913 for the Permanent Court of Arbitration with funds donated by American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

5. The peculiarity of the construction and interior of the palace is that it was built and furnished by the general public: many details of the furnishings were donated by the states participating in the first disarmament conference in 1907.

6. It is not the ICJ, but the ICC (International Criminal Court) located 4-5 kilometres down the road from the Peach Palace, that has the power to prosecute individuals. War criminals in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu, have already been indicted by the ICC.

Unfortunately, the existence of the Palace of Peace did not save humanity from the incredible horrors of the First and Second World Wars... And so far, in the 21st century, it has not deterred Russia, led by Putin, in carrying out their _______ full-scale bloody war against independent Ukraine.

But, as the famous German writer, Erich Maria Remarque, wrote in his novel A Time to Love and a Time to Die: "There has never been a tyranny in the world that has not come to an end. Mankind has not moved forward on a straight road, but always with impulses, jerks, retreats and convulsions."

The international community has long aspired to establish a permanent international court and, in the 20th century, reached a certain consensus on definitions of key matters of international concern. The ICC now has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed after July 1, 2002. It also has jurisdiction over "crimes of aggression," starting from July 17, 2018, (under certain conditions and procedures).

Ukrainians all over the world cherish the hope that Putin and all his minions involved in war crimes will be held accountable. That's why Ukrainians from all over the world attach their wishes for peace and a fair tribunal for war criminals on a tree at the entrance to The Hague's Peace Palace.

After all, the building of the ICC is right next to the Peace Palace here in The Hague, in the “city of Peace and Justice.” And, the ICC has already issued arrest warrants. Civilized world, be fair and punish these international criminals, guilty in crimes against humanity.