United Nations Human Rights Council 56th Session
Item 10 - Interactive Dialogue on oral presentation of the High Commissioner on Ukraine and interim report of the Secretary General on human rights in Crimea.
9 July 2024
Mr. President,
I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the 'Group of Friends of Accountability following the aggression against Ukraine'.
We condemn Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, including the latest wave of strikes destroying hospitals, killing dozens of civilians. A war that causes immense human suffering and violates international law, including the UN Charter.
Russia’s depravity in its treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is well-documented in the OHCHR’s latest report. We are appalled by the report’s evidence of Russia’s use of torture, including sexual and gender-based violence, against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees. We call on all parties to ensure that survivors receive assistance, including in the form of psychosocial support, rehabilitation measures and reparations.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Ukrainian OSCE Special Monitoring staff who Russia has been unjustly detaining for more than 800 days, despite repeated calls for their release.
Mr. President,
Russia shows no intention of holding perpetrators to account. On March 23rd, President Putin signed into force a new law expanding the exemption from criminal accountability for members of Russia’s armed forces, creating a climate of impunity. Dignity and justice must be restored for the countless victims of Russia’s aggression and those responsible must be held to account
We welcome the work of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the reporting of the Commission of Inquiry, and UN Special Procedures mandate holders, the investigations by the International Criminal Court, the operationalization of both the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression and the Register of Damage for Ukraine, and the work of the Core Group towards a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
High Commissioner,
What can we do to support the investigation and documentation of cases of transferred or deported children and torture against POWs and civilian prisoners, to help ensure future accountability for its perpetrators?
I thank you.
List of members of the Group of Friends of Accountability following the Aggression against Ukraine.
- Albania
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- EU Delegation