- The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has detailed claims of what it says could be crimes against humanity committed by Russia’s troops
A United Nations investigative body has detailed allegations of widespread atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
The claims were outlined in a report by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which said some acts may amount to crimes against humanity.
The commission said it found “patterns of wilful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and unlawful transfers of detainees [including children]” carried out by Russia’s forces in Ukraine.
“The ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine has had devastating effects at various levels,” Erik Møse, chair of the commission, told a press briefing.
“Human losses and the general disregard for the life of civilians … are shocking.”
While the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) found that at least 8,006 civilians had died in the conflict and another 13,287 had been injured, it believes the “actual figures are considerably higher.”
At least 5.4 million Ukrainians, roughly the population of Sydney, are displaced and 18 million require humanitarian assistance.
The 18-page report will be presented to the Geneva Human Rights Council on Monday.
What crimes are being alleged?
The report outlined systematic human rights violations, some of which it said could amount to war crimes.
Commissioner Pablo de Greiff said that Russian authorities used torture in a “systematic” manner and that there were “elements of planning and availability of resources” that pointed to potential crimes against humanity.
The commission recommended further investigations “to ascertain whether those violations have been committed in furtherance of a specific policy,” he said.
The commission found “reasonable grounds” to qualify the invasion and subsequent attacks as “acts of aggression” a major international crime.
It found evidence of at least 68 summary executions – 65 men, two women, and a 14-year-old boy – but stressed that this figure covered only the “early months of the conflict”.
The report said Russia’s troops had targeted densely populated civilian areas with “indiscriminate and disproportionate” force, with no regard for human life. In one case, a Ukrainian maternity ward was bombed, killing at least one pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Sexual violence and rape had also been committed by Russia’s military personnel, both during house-to-house searches and on detainees, the report said. Commissioner Jasminka Džumhur said that victims were men, women and children, with ages ranging from four to 82 years old.
The report said at least 13 waves of military attacks by Russia since October on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as well as the systematic use of torture, “may amount to crimes against humanity”.
It found a “small number” of violations apparently carried out by Ukraine’s troops as they attempted to reclaim Russia-occupied territory, including two “likely indiscriminate attacks”.
What have victims reported?
Victims reported being shocked with tasers, beaten with batons, suffocated with plastic bags, and forced to stand naked in front of other prisoners.
They have reported rape, including the same captives victimised multiple times, sometimes by multiple Russian soldiers.
Captives were also held in inhumane makeshift jails, suffering through Ukraine’s freezing winter without adequate heating, the report found.
In one documented case, ten elderly Ukrainians froze to death in a basement. “The other detainees, including children, had to share the same space with the bodies of the deceased,” the report said.
Many victims of summary executions also showed signs of having been held captive – some apparently tied up and shot through the head, the UN commission found.
How has Russia responded?
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Russia regularly heard accusations like those documented in the report.
“We are ready to analyse specific cases, answer questions, provide data, statistics and facts. But if they are biased, if they represent only one point of view … then there is no use responding to these reports,” she said.
The commission said Russia did not cooperate with its investigation. Source: Getty / Mikhail Metzel
But the report said the commission “regrets that its attempts to establish meaningful communication with the Russian Federation have been unsuccessful”.
Moscow has flatly denied charges that it unlawfully transferred 16,000 children from Ukraine, claiming it has relocated people voluntarily.
Will the report lead to charges?
Not necessarily.
The report called for a comprehensive approach to accountability that includes both criminal responsibility and the victims’ right to truth, reparation, and non-repetition.
Executing prisoners, sexual violence, and targeting of civilians during wartime are all prohibited under international humanitarian law. And the International Criminal Court would have the power to charge Russian troops for many of the atrocities outlined by the report.
But some legal experts have warned filing charges over the crime of aggression – the most direct route to Russia’s leadership – would be more complex.
Because Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, and can veto attempts to pursue them in the UN Security Council, they say a court separate to the ICC would need to be established, and even then, Russia’s leadership would need to surrender or be captured to face the dock.
Originally published in SBS News, Australia
