56th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Item 10 - Interactive dialogue on oral presentation of High Commissioner on Ukraine and interim report of Secretary General on human rights in Crimea.
Statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States : Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia.
H.E. Ms Baiba Braže
09 July 2024
Mr President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic States.
Since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine since 2022, Russia has committed atrocities that may amount to war crimes and perpetrated grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The weaponisation of sexual and gender-based violence and unlawful deportation and transfer of children are among the most appalling crimes. Russia must ensure safe and unhindered access for human rights monitoring mechanisms to all temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including to prisoners of war.
Persecution of journalists and representatives of civil society, politically motivated sentencing, arbitrary detentions, torture, forced conscription, unlawful transfer and deportation of children and civilians, including Crimean Tatars - an unacceptable reality faced by the people of the occupied Ukrainian peninsula. Russia’s ongoing efforts to eradicate Ukrainian language, identity and cultural heritage through indoctrination and assimilation further expose the imperial nature of its war of aggression.
It is imperative that Russia is held fully accountable and perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice.
Mr. High Commissioner,
During the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, nearly 100 nations called on Russia to return all deported and unlawfully displaced children and civilians, as well as release all prisoners of war. What instruments do we have to add to this purpose and further mobilise the international community to bring Ukrainian people home?