The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Ukrainian and Russian calls for execution of POWs - OHCHR
“We urgently call on both the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to investigate and to swiftly and publicly condemn audio recordings that have emerged over the weekend in which people with apparent connections to both sides of the conflict in Ukraine appear to order the summary execution of prisoners of war or declare that there shall be no survivors on the battlefield,” she said.
Audio material emerged on 23 April on several Telegram channels urging combatants not to take prisoners of war or to summarily execute those they captured.
“One recording is alleged to be of a member of the Ukrainian armed forces ordering the killing of a prisoner of war from the so-called ‘Wagner Group’ that provides military and security contractors to fight for the Russian Federation. A subsequent audio statement was issued, apparently from the head of the Wagner Group, indicating that they would no longer take prisoners of war on the battlefield,” she said.
“While we have not yet been able to verify the authenticity of these recordings, such statements could provoke or encourage summary executions of prisoners of war or those hors de combat,” she said.
“If verified, the order to summarily execute persons hors de combat, including prisoners of war, followed by their killing or an attempt to do so amounts to a war crime, as does the declaration that no quarter will be given,” Shamdasani added.
She called on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to comply with their obligations under international law to investigate the statements in these recordings and to identify and prosecute those responsible.
“We call on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to comply with their obligations under international law to investigate these statements that were made in these recordings and to identify and prosecute those who are responsible,” the spokesperson said.
“We also call on military commanders and other superiors to issue clear and unambiguous orders to protect and treat humanely POWs and persons hors de combat, and to ensure that these orders are strictly complied with,” Shamdasani said.
END
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
In Nairobi
Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
- Exterior shot: travelling shot Palais des Nations
- Wide shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “We urgently call on both the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to investigate and to swiftly and publicly condemn audio recordings that have emerged over the weekend in which people with apparent connections to both sides of the conflict in Ukraine appear to order the summary execution of prisoners of war or declare that there shall be no survivors on the battlefield.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “One recording is alleged to be of a member of the Ukrainian armed forces ordering the killing of a prisoner of war from the so-called ‘Wagner Group’ that provides military and security contractors to fight for the Russian Federation. A subsequent audio statement was issued, apparently from the head of the Wagner Group, indicating that they would no longer take prisoners of war on the battlefield.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “While we have not yet been able to verify the authenticity of these recordings, such statements could provoke or encourage summary executions of prisoners of war or those ‘hors de combat’.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “If verified, the order to summarily execute persons ‘hors de combat’, including prisoners of war, followed by their killing or an attempt to do so amounts to a war crime, as does the declaration that no quarter will be given.”
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to comply with their obligations under international law to investigate these statements that were made in these recordings and to identify and prosecute those who are responsible.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR): “We also call on military commanders and other superiors to issue clear and unambiguous orders to protect and treat humanely POWs and persons hors de combat, and to ensure that these orders are strictly complied with.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.