Aonghus Kelly

From supporting Ukrainian justice actors in investigating and prosecuting international crimes to the weakening of the rule of law and the climate crisis, our guest this month, Aonghus Kelly has a lot to talk about.

Aonghus is an international criminal and human rights lawyer and has just finished his stint as head of the international crimes’ legal unit for the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM), Ukraine. Aonghus and his team were brought in after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, to help document and collate information, with a view to prosecutions. But, unlike the International Criminal Court, EUAM doesn't have an executive mandate, which Aonghus found frustrating: “You know what to do. You know how to do it. You know what needs to be done. But you can’t do it. So you can just advise them.” And Aonghus is also skeptical about seeing multiple cases go before the ICC, believing rather in financial compensation as a more realistic means of justice for Ukrainians, but says redirecting frozen Russian assets for this purpose might prove problematic: “What about the other terrible actions being taken by sovereign countries around the world. Are their assets going to be seized?”

Aonghus, like other previous guests on the podcast, expresses great concern over the rule of law, as some western states continue to support Israel: “Given what we are lecturing the Russians on, this is a little problematic, if western countries aren’t as fulsome in their expressions as regards Israel, as they have been as regards Russia. In fact, it worries me deeply because it seems to prove one of Putin’s talking points, which is that the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Justice system, the International Rule of Law is all a western construct and is a complete fake and just serves the west. I don’t believe that. I have never believed that. But you’d have to say, this is a useful piece of evidence for him (Putin), to exhibit before us all and say, ‘I told you’.

Aonghus recently upskilled in getting a Masters in Sustainability from Cambridge. He talks about the climate crisis, the human rights abuses associated with extractivism, climate denialism and biodiversity loss: “What we are telling people right now is, ‘We don’t care if your land is being swallowed up by the Sahara Desert, or the rains don’t come anymore, or the big fishing ships have come from rich Northern countries and have swooped up all of your fish. We don’t care about any of that. You need to stay there in squalor and, of course, do look at your mobile phone that we have sold you.'”

Presented and produced by Evelyn McClafferty.

With thanks to our donors: Irish Aid.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of IRLI or Irish Aid.