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UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine - Presser
Erik Møse, Chairperson of Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
On behalf of the Commission of Inquiry for Ukraine, composed of Erik Møse (chair), Jasminka Džumhur and Pablo de Greiff, I want to welcome you to this press conference at the end of the Commission’s first visit to the country.
The Human Rights Council set up the Commission to investigate alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, with a view to ensuring accountability. On 12 May 2022, the Human Rights Council also requested the Commission to address events that took place in late February and March in four specific regions of Ukraine. Consequently, the Commission has, during this ten-day long visit in Ukraine given priority to Kyiv city, Bucha, Irpin, Kharkiv and Sumy.
In Kyiv, we met with representatives of the Ukrainian parliament, of several ministries, and with the Prosecutor General, whom we had also met previously. The purpose of these encounters was to exchange information of relevance to the Commission’s mandate and to facilitate future investigations. We also met several Ukrainian NGOs that provided valuable inputs to our work.
During the visits to Bucha, Irpin, Kharkiv and Sumy, the Commission met with local authorities as well as civil society organizations, both of which provided significant assistance. Furthermore, the Commission received accounts from individuals who shared their painful stories.
Although far from fully staffed, the Commission’s first visit was very productive. At this stage we are not in a position to make any factual findings or pronounce ourselves on issues of the legal determination of events. However, subject to further confirmation, the information received and the visited sites of destruction may support claims that serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, perhaps reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed in the areas.
In Bucha and Irpin, the Commission received information about arbitrary killing of civilians, destruction and looting of property, as well as attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools. In Kharkiv and Sumy region, the Commission observed the destruction of large urban areas, allegedly as a consequence of aerial bombings, shelling, or missile strikes against civilian targets.
Jasminka Džumhur, Member of Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
The Commission also had the opportunity to listen to internally displaced persons, including those coming from the East of Ukraine, who referred to displacement of people. Testimonies also included stories of destruction of civilian property; looting; the confinement, mistreatment, and disappearance of civilians, as well as reports about rapes and other forms of sexual abuse. The Commission will examine all these allegations further.
The Commission is concerned with the impact of the war on children. It considers it necessary to investigate further reports about the alleged transfer of children placed in institutions in the temporarily occupied territories to the Russian Federation as well as information about expedited citizenship and adoption processes for some of these children. In Ukraine, many displaced children have been separated from families. The physical destruction of schools and their use for the accommodation of IDPs raises challenges concerning the children’s access to education.
The Commission has previously stated that it would adopt a victim-centered perspective on its work, and that it would be faithful to its mandate, which asks it to make proposals regarding accountability. Criminal accountability is important, but so are other forms of accountability, including those that enhance the possibility that victims will be able to reconstruct their lives.
The Government of Ukraine is making efforts to meet the diverse needs of victims. While there are areas where greater institutional coordination is probably desirable, doing so while the conflict is ongoing poses particular challenges.
Pablo de Greiff, Member of Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
The first visit of the Commission will be followed by visits to other parts of Ukraine before the Commission’s oral update to the Human Rights Council in September this year.
We will continue with the process of collecting evidence that may serve accountability purposes; whenever possible identifying individuals or entities, and will pay special attention to violations of a sexual nature, of the rights of children, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations.
The Commission will carry out its work independently, neutrally, and objectively, examining violations and abuses regardless of the identity of the perpetrator. We hope that all parties to the conflict will assist the Commission in its work.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Ukraine for facilitating our mission, to Ukrainian civil society organisations, victims and witnesses, and to the various United Nations agencies for their kind collaboration. The Commission also wants to thank the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine for their indispensable collaboration to the visit.
We will be happy to take some questions now.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
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“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
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“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
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The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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