JST of the GoF AAU – Interactive Dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine at 55th Session of UN Human Rights Council
Delivered by TBC on behalf of the Group of Friends
18 March 2024 – Geneva, Switzerland
Mr. President, Mr. Chair,
I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the 'Group of Friends of Accountability following the aggression against Ukraine'.
Damian Omelianenko, Mykola Maslii, Iryna Horobtsova.
These are just three of the thousands of Ukrainian civilians, yes civilians, who according to credible reports, have been unlawfully detained by Russian authorities.
As found by the Commission of Inquiry, the unlawful confinement of civilians, is a violation of their rights to liberty and security of person and is a war crime. But their detention is often only the first in a harrowing series of violations and crimes civilian detainees are subjected to at the hands of Russian authorities.
Torture, sexual and gender-based violence, unlawful transfers and deportations, including of children. The list goes on.
Mr. Chair,
Dignity and justice must be restored for the countless victims of Russia’s aggression and those responsible must be held to account.
We, therefore, welcome the detailed reporting of the CoI, as well as the work of the HRMMU, the investigation by the ICC, the operationalization of the ICPCA, the establishment of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, and the work of the Core Group towards a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Mr. Chair,
What more can the international community do to support Damian Omelianenko, Mykola Maslii, and Iryna Horobtsova, and the identification, release and the reunification of all other Ukrainian civilians who are unlawfully detained by Russia?
Thank you, Mr. President.
List of members of the Group of Friends of Accountability for 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