The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
HRC - Press conference: Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine - 19 March 2025
Ukrainians tortured, raped, executed by Russian captors, Human Rights Council hears
The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard gruesome testimony of torture, rape and execution of Ukrainian detainees and soldiers allegedly committed by Russian forces, as a high-level independent probe into Russia’s full-scale invasion delivered its latest mandated report in Geneva.
According to the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, enforced disappearances of civilians committed by Russian authorities have been “widespread and systematic” and likely amount to crimes against humanity.
“Many persons have been missing for months or years and some have died,” said Erik Mose, Chair of the independent investigative panel, whose Commissioners are not UN staff nor paid for their work. “The faith and whereabouts of many remain unknown, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty.”
Requests from families of missing persons to Russian authorities for information about their relatives are typically met with unhelpful replies, while one young man was “detained and beaten when he went to the authorities to enquire about his missing girlfriend”, the Commission noted.
As in previous presentations prepared for the Human Rights Council, the Commission’s latest report contains equally disturbing findings about the use of torture by Russian authorities, panel member Vrinda Grover told journalists in Geneva: “A civilian woman who had been raped during confinement in a detention facility held by Russian authorities stated that she pleaded with the perpetrators, telling them she could be their mother's age, but they dismissed her saying. ‘B***h, don't even compare yourself to my mother. You are not even a human. You do not deserve to live.’ We have concluded that Russian authorities committed the war crimes of rape and sexual violence as a form of torture.”
Ms. Grover noted that the Commissioners’ investigations confirmed that members of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) “exercised the highest authority. They committed or ordered torture at various stages of detention, and in particular during interrogations, when some of the most brutal treatment was inflicted”.
Challenged about the focus on alleged rights abuses by Russian authorities in their latest report, the Commissioners noted that they had detailed alleged violations committed by the Ukrainian forces “whenever we have found [them]”.
Commissioner Pablo de Greiff also noted that despite more than 30 requests for information from Russian authorities about possible Ukrainian attacks, “we have received absolutely none” and pointed to evidence of reprisals against supposed collaborators working with the Russian authorities.
Another aspect of the independent rights investigators’ report involves a growing number of incidents in which the Russian armed forces apparently killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender. “This constitutes a war crime,” Mr. de Greiff said, relaying the testimony of a former soldier who alleged that “a deputy brigade commander told the entire regiment, quote, 'Prisoners are not needed, shoot them on the spot.'”
STORY: Press conference - Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
TRT: 03’05”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 19 March 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speakers:
- Erik Møse, Chair, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
- Pablo de Greiff, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
- Vrinda Grover, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley
- Wide shot of podium with speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Pablo de Greiff, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: "The Commission examined a growing number of incidents in which the Russian armed forces killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender. This constitutes a war crime."
- Medium shot of journalist holding camera.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Pablo de Greiff, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “The Commission found that both parties to the armed conflict using drones killed or wounded visibly injured soldiers who could no longer defend themselves. This is also a war crime.”
- Wide shot of journalists, participants in the press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Pablo de Greiff, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “One former soldier stated that in a meeting, a deputy brigade commander told the entire regiment. Quote, 'Prisoners are not needed, shoot them on the spot.' Close quote."
- Wide shot: speakers at podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Vrinda Grover, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “Russian authorities have committed torture pursuant to a coordinated State policy and as crimes against humanity. Personnel of the Federal Security Service, referred to as FSB in Russian, exercise the highest authority when present in detention facilities they committed or ordered torture during various stages of detention.”
- Medium shot of press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Vrinda Grover, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “A civilian woman who had been raped during confinement in a detention facility held by Russian authorities stated that she pleaded with the perpetrators, telling them she could be their mother's age, but they dismissed her saying. B***h, don't even compare yourself to my mother. You are not even a human. You do not deserve to live. We have concluded that Russian authorities committed the war crimes of rape and sexual violence as a form of torture.”
- Wide shot of journalists, participants in press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Pablo de Greiff, Commissioner, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “We documented some violations of human rights law committed by Ukrainian authorities against persons they accused of collaboration with Russian authorities.”
- Wide shot of speakers at podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Erik Møse, Chair, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: “Many persons have been missing for months or years and some have died. The faith and whereabouts of many remain unknown, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty.”
- Close up of journalist nodding.
- Close up of participant listening.
- Wide shot of journalists, participants in press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Community trust and lab testing at the heart of DRC Ebola response – WHO
In Ebola-stricken eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a massive push for early testing and contact tracing is underway to contain the virus, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by a spokesperson and representative from the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNFPA
The UN in Lebanon appealed for an additional $331.5 million on Friday to help 1.4 million people in crisis as already massive needs continue to grow, three months after deadly violence erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNFPA , UNHCR , WHO , IOM , WFP , FAO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of OCHA, FAO, UNFPA, WHO, WFP, IOM and UNHCR.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNICEF , UNCTAD , UNFPA , WHO , WFP , IOM , OHCHR , UNHCR
UNICEF: Impact of the US-Israel-Iran escalation on supply operations; UNCTAD: Strait of Hormuz Economic impacts of disruptions; UNFPA: Urgent need for protection of maternal health for women and girls in Sudan and Lebanon; WHO: Restoration of vital health-care services in Lebanon urgently needs sustained ceasefire and peace; WFP: Global funding shortfall; IOM: Cross-border Ebola Response in the DRC; OHCHR: Nicaragua death in custody, Specialised judicial units in Haiti; UNHCR: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , WFP , WHO , UNICEF
UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service, with the participation of representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, WFP and ILO.