The UN has evidence that the Russian authorities committed war crimes in Ukraine
An international UN commission investigating Ukraine’s war crimes said Thursday it had enough evidence to suggest Russian authorities committed war crimes in various regions not only of Ukraine but also in Russia itself, including sexual violence and the deportation of children. In addition, Russian forces have committed crimes against humanity in the wave of attacks that began on energy infrastructure in October 2022, as have policymakers in confirming the use of torture.
“The Commission has concluded that Russian forces have carried out explosive weapon attacks in populated areas with apparent disregard for the suffering and harm of civilians,” reads the report presented today, which will be presented to the Council next week should UN human rights. As Russian forces advanced into Ukrainian territory, the killings of civilians, as well as their detention and detention in facilities built for this purpose, multiplied both in occupied Ukraine and in Russia, the document said. In these places, ill-treatment quickly turned into torture for reasons such as “speak Ukrainian” or “I can’t remember the lyrics of the Russian anthem”, while outside of them, raids by Russian soldiers on private homes resulted in sexual violence or threats of drug use against women and men.
Of the children deported to Russian territory, witnesses interviewed by the Commission indicated that the youngest may have lost contact with their families permanently. On the other hand, the Commission’s investigations have also enabled it to state that the Russian invasion and attacks on Ukraine may constitute an act of aggression that can be investigated and prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. In the course of their investigation, the members of the UN group (Erik Mse from Norway; Jasminka Dumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pablo de Greiff from Colombia) traveled to Ukraine eight times, visiting 56 cities and interviewing almost 600 people, as well as visiting destroyed sites , detention and torture centers and witnessed all the remains of scattered weapons and explosives.
The commission has also investigated human rights violations and abuses by Ukrainian forces, although in this case it found “a small number of violations”, in particular two incidents in which Russian soldiers were wounded, tortured or shot at, as part of war crimes.” From their interviews, the commissioners drew the Concludes that the greatest wish of the Ukrainian people, and especially the victims of atrocities, is for justice to be done and for those responsible to be brought to justice.”What is being asked for is an accountability approach that respects both criminal liability and the victims’ right to justice.” truth, indemnity, and non-repetition,” says the account (Ephesians).