The United Nations Office at Geneva
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HRC54 - COI Ukraine - Ukraine Representative 25 September 2023
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3:42
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MP4
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269.8 MB
Teleprompter
Respectful members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates Commissioner Mercer, Commissioner De Grave, it's an honour for me to address United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time, though unfortunately, due to the massive atrocities committed to a shocking degree by Russia in course of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
It has been 78 years since the adoption of the United Nations Charter that reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the lengthy list of human rights treaties, they represent binding commitments for the state and as members of the international community.
Yet we witness how Russia brazenly assaults those values.
Till today, accountability for Russia's criminal legacy in Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine and Syria was largely lacking, which has paved the way to its full scale aggression against Ukraine.
We are grateful to the United Nations Human Rights Council for its rapid response by setting up of the independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine with a clear mandate to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and humanitarian law, as well as related international crimes in the context of aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
The work of the Commission and its findings are are an integral aspect of the accountability architecture.
We commend the Commission for its efforts and express out commitment to continue cooperation and dialogue.
Restoring justice will require not only years but decades of commitment as we continue to document, investigate and prosecute over 100,000 incidents of war crimes ranging from willful killing, summary execution, torture and I'll treatment to indiscriminate shelling and unlawful confinement.
More than 19,000 Ukrainian children have become the victims of the ill-fated practise of the forcible transfer and deportation planned and implemented by top leadership of Russian regime.
Ukrainian children are stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship and put for adoption.
It is a war crime and crimes against humanity that also could amount to crime of genocide in line with the 1948 Genocide Convention.
In parallel, thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war are subjected to torture and conflict related sexual violence as part of established policies that Russia uses against detainees.
This pattern of crimes and existing evidence establishes a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of persecution is being committed against the Ukrainian national group by Russia.
The conduct of the Russian invasion and subsequent occupation has been accompanied by numerous violations on discriminatory grounds, which were also detailed in part in the Commission's previous reports.
Therefore, documenting and ensuring full accountability both on national and international level is paramount, along with the reparation of the damage suffered by the millions of victims and survivors.
In this regard, the Commission's dedication, efforts and contribution to the quest for justice and accountability for establishing sustainable peace and stability remains indispensable.
We hope to see continuation of this path.
Thank you for your attention.