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. JST GoF AAU. Denmark (09.07.2024)

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.

  1. Albania
  2. Australia
  3. Austria
  4. Belgium
  5. Bosnia-Herzegovina
  6. Bulgaria
  7. Canada
  8. Colombia
  9. Croatia
  10. Cyprus
  11. Czech Republic
  12. Denmark
  13. Estonia
  14. Finland
  15. France
  16. Georgia
  17. Germany
  18. Greece
  19. Guatemala
  20. Iceland
  21. Ireland
  22. Italy
  23. Japan
  24. Latvia
  25. Liechtenstein
  26. Lithuania
  27. Luxembourg
  28. Malta
  29. Republic of the Marshall Islands
  30. Moldova
  31. Montenegro
  32. Kingdom of the Netherlands
  33. New Zealand
  34. North Macedonia
  35. Norway
  36. Poland
  37. Portugal
  38. Republic of Korea
  39. Romania
  40. Slovakia
  41. Slovenia
  42. Spain
  43. Sweden
  44. Switzerland
  45. Ukraine
  46. United Kingdom
  47. United States
  48. EU Delegation