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HRC58: Human Rights in Ukraine - 19 March 2025
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17:36
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1.1 GB
Interactive dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Ukraine, on its latest report, at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.
Opening statements by:
- Erik Møse, chair of the Commission of Inquiry
- Oleksiy Khomenko, Acting Prosecutor General of Ukraine (country concerned)
- Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (country concerned)
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Distinguished Vice President, Excellencies, I'm pleased to brief this Council, together with my colleagues Pablo de Grave and Vrinda Grovell, on the findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine at the end of its third mandate.
The armed conflict initiated by the Russians Federation's aggression against Ukraine has led to over 12,000 killed and more than 29,000 injured civilians, large scale destruction and damage of civilian dwellings and infrastructure.
For three years, the Commission has gathered evidence of grave violations of international human rights, international humanitarian law, as well as corresponding crimes.
During this mandate, the Commission has already concluded that Russian authorities have committed crimes against the humanity of torture.
In our present report, we have also found that the Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity of enforced disappearances.
These crimes were carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in all provinces of Ukraine where areas came under Russian control and in the Russian Federation.
They were perpetrated pursuant to a coordinated state policy and targeted categories of persons that Russian authorities perceived as a ****** to their military military objectives in Ukraine.
The Commission has interviewed a total of almost 1800 persons, including victims and witnesses of violations and crimes.
All aspects of its work are guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, integrity and a weakening centred approach.
The liquidity crisis at the United Nation has severely affected the staffing of our Secretariat and our ability to travel during the current mandate, yet we have continued our work applying the established standard of proof.
The Commission reiterates it's gratitude to all those who shared valuable information.
We appreciate the cooperation by the Government of Ukraine.
The Russian Federation has not responded to any of our 31 communications, including requests for information about incidents where the alleged victims were Russian Distinguished Precedent excellences.
The Russian authorities have committed widespread and forced disappearances of civilians as well as of prisoners of war.
Large number of civilians were detained and subsequently transferred to detention facilities in occupied areas of Ukraine or deported to the Russian Federation.
They were subjected to additional grave violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence.
Many of the victims have disappeared for months or years.
Some have died.
Russian authorities at different levels have systematically failed to provide information on the detainees.
There's fate and whereabouts to family members, leaving them in agonising uncertainty.
Response letters from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, even when acknowledging the detention of some of the disappeared persons, did not disclose their whereabouts, invoking confidentiality.
This deprived the victims of the protection of the law and rendered them vulnerable to further violations and crimes.
The Commission concluded that the Russian authorities have committed and forced disappearances as crimes against humanity.
The denial of information about those missing has violated the family's right to know the truth.
Many undertook considerable search efforts at great risk but often to no avail, and share their deep feelings of anguish and deportation, a woman whose family members have been missing since March 2022 told the Commission.
I just want the Russians to release and return my husband and son.
They have ruined our lives.
I can't bear to think about their mental and physical health after more than two years in captivity.
As regards torture as a crime against humanity, the Commission's recent investigations further confirmed that the Federal Security Service, referred to as FSB in Russian, exercise the highest authority when present in detention facilities.
They routinely committed or ordered torture at various stages of detention, particularly during interrogations, where some of the most brutal treatment was inflected.
The former detainee described how Federal Security Service officers subjected her to repeated electric shocks during questioning.
Dissatisfied with her answers, they stated.
If he will continue to deny, your brother will suffer.
And do not forget that we can also bring your daughters here.
We have previously concluded that the rational politics is systematically perpetrated sexual violence as a form of torture during detention.
Most victims were men.
The Commission has now documented new cases of **** and sexual violence used as forms of torture against female detainees who were subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment.
Some women were raped during interrogations as a mean to coerce, intimidate or punish them.
Others were subjected to forced nudity in the presence of male guards.
This illustrates the gendered dimension of sexual violence in detention, a victim of **** told the Commission.
I can't describe all of it.
Those *****, stinking men tearing my clothes, treating me like I was a rubber doll.
It was unbearable.
The Commission has further investigated an increasing number of incidents in which Russian armed forces killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender.
This constitutes war crimes.
Our investigators have been able to interview soldiers who deserted from the Russian army forces.
Several of them told the Commission that they had received orders not to take prisoners, but **** them instead, which points to a coordinated policy in this regard.
For instance, one soldier heard how a battalion commander stated we don't take prisoners, those Nazis should not be taken in captivity, they should be killed.
We also found that both parties to the armed conflict using drones, killed or wounded, visibly injured soldiers or the combat.
This constitutes war crimes.
Finally, the Commission documented some cases in which Ukrainian authorities committed human rights violations against persons they suspected of collaboration with the Russian authorities.
Distinguished Vice President's Excellencies The wide array of violations and crimes committing during three years have caused unspeakable suffering.
Victims were often subjected to a complex range of violations and crimes involving extreme forms of physical and psychological violence and deprivation of basic rights.
Family members had to cope with the death of loved ones or prolonged separation.
The Commission stresses the importance of judicial and non judicial accountability in all its form to support the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration in Society of the victims.
They have emphasised the importance and the perpetrators being held to account.
Judicial accountability remains key to ensuring that perpetrators of violations and crimes are identified and held responsible for their acts and to end the cycle of impunity.
Both forms of accountability contribute to the sustainability of priest processes.
Thank you.
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Excellencies, distinguished members of the Commission, State and civil society representatives, colleagues, partners.
I express our deep gratitude to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine for its unwavering dedication Violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
It is particularly important that their Commission continues to focus on widespread and systematic violations that are being committed by Russia against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.
These include the use of torture, enforced disappearance, willful killings, and sexual violence as a method of warfare.
These actions, as part of a coordinated state policy have one clear objective to terrorise the Ukrainian population and eliminate any resistance in occupied territories.
The other deliberate practises of Russia policy are the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children and attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.
It has been a third winter with mass waves of attacks targeting Ukraine's energy related infrastructure.
These attacks, which continue to intensify, are not only aimed at military targets, but a part of a deliberate strategy to intimidate and create unbearable living conditions for millions of innocent Ukrainians.
These brutal actions only serve to further demonstrate the death of Russia's commitment to its violent campaign.
At the national level, Ukraine is also investigating these crimes as we strive to ensure justice for the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable.
This national effort is part of our broader commitment to ensuring that the law is upheld and that justice prevails.
The Prosecutor General's Office is profoundly grateful for the work in the United Nations Commission of Inquiry is doing to call attention to the violations committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
It is imperative that we continue to_the importance of holding those responsible for these crimes accountable.
The perpetrators must face justice for their actions, and the international community must come together to support initiatives aimed at ensuring Russia's accountability.
It is only through such collective action that we can ensure that justice is served.
At that, these crimes are never allowed to go unpunished.
I would like to extend my heart full gratitude to the Commission and your team for the tireless dedication and commitment.
Your efforts in conducting the inquiry and shedding light on atrocities committed by Russia remain critical.
The findings and impact of your work not only advances justice, but will undoubtedly have a lasting and significant influence on securing just peace for Ukraine.
Thank you for attention.
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Distinguished Participants Firstly, I would like the the Commission for its important work in investigating violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and related crimes committed by the Russian Federation during its armed aggression against Ukraine, including the latest reports.
Russian Federation continues to commit a large scale and systematic violations in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full scale invasion, at least 12,654 civilians have been killed and more than 29,000 have been injured.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, at least 599 children have died.
These numbers are growing daily.
Russian occupiers systematically commit intentional killings, torture and sexual violence against men and women, prisoners of war and civilians and use that as a weapon of war and intimidation.
These brutal actions not only cause immense suffering, but also aim to break the will of the Ukrainian people and undermine the fundamental principles of human dignity and international law.
Repressions continue in the temporarily occupied surgeries of Ukraine.
The aggressor state is fostering a climate of fear by employing violence, pressure and threatening of civilians.
For the third year in Iran, Russian Federation is not giving attempts to completely destroy energy system of Ukraine and leave civilian population without electricity, heating and water in winter.
I urge decision makers to extend the mandate of the independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine and allocate the necessary resources and support to ensure the Commission can fulfil its mandate, including conducting essential Wizards to Ukraine for the investigation.
As the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, I'm ready to assist the Commission in its investigations in Ukraine and call on other parties concerned to cooperate effectively with the Commission to bring justice closer.
Thank you for your attention.