On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the international community to step up its efforts to bring justice to the victims of the “senseless” conflict in Ukraine.
“Efforts to seek justice and accountability for violations of international law must be intensified and deepened,” Turk said in a statement sent on the first anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But “it is equally important that victims can receive redress and support (…) without having to wait for the results of formal court proceedings,” he added.
Mr. Türk himself traveled to Ukraine in December, where he saw the “suffering inflicted on the population”.
“The number of civilian casualties is unbearable,” he said. “I regret the terrible human cost of this senseless conflict,” he said, calling for it to end “now.”
According to the United Nations, nearly 18 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and around 14 million people have been displaced from their homes.
At least 8,006 civilians have died and 13,287 injured in Ukraine over the past 12 months, according to the High Commissioner’s Office. However, these are only cases verified by the UN, which therefore estimates the actual toll to be higher.
According to the head of the UN human rights mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, “thousands” more died.
In his statement, Mr. Türk pointed out that the elderly and disabled face enormous difficulties and in some cases cannot get into the air raid shelters.
“Most of those left behind in conflict zones are elderly people, who are often unwilling or unable to leave the country,” he added.