The scale of atrocities is unprecedented since the Second World War: Foreign Ministry on UN report on Russian crimes
19 March 2024 06:28
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the second report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on violations in Ukraine, the findings of which will be discussed on 19 March at the UN Human Rights Council.
This was reported by Kommersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
“The crimes recorded by the UN Commission show the scale of atrocities that Europe has not seen since the Second World War. All those responsible must be punished. Responsibility for what they have done is what the Russian occupiers fear the most, which means that the task of the entire international community is to make this responsibility inevitable,” the commentary reads.
As noted, the UN Commission has collected additional evidence of serious violations and international crimes committed by the Russian authorities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. These include torture, premeditated murder, rape and other crimes of sexual violence, illegal detention of civilians, enforced disappearances, illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, attacks and destruction of cultural and historical heritage sites.
“The new evidence confirms the Commission’s previous findings that the Russian authorities continue to systematically torture both Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, which constitutes war crimes against Ukrainians, in the temporarily occupied territories and in the Russian Federation,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The foreign ministry emphasises that the report assesses the serious consequences of the hostilities and the siege of Mariupol for civilians, records a large number of casualties and damage to civilian objects, as well as testimonies of affected residents of Mariupol.
“The Commission’s conclusions point to the need to continue further investigation, in particular with a view to further qualifying Russia’s serious international crimes against the Ukrainian people, which should become part of the materials for consideration by international courts and tribunals,” the Foreign Ministry said.
As a reminder, on 15 March, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry published a report on the investigation of violations in Ukraine, which states that there is new documented evidence of war crimes committed by Russia in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
