A commission set up by the UN to investigate possible human rights violations in Russia’s war against Ukraine has gathered new evidence of violations that could constitute crimes against humanity, its president announced this Monday.
“Many of these violations may constitute war crimes, and some, if confirmed, may constitute crimes against humanity,” Norwegian Erik Mose said in Kyiv, quoted by Spanish news agency EFE.
The former judge, who was a member of the International Criminal Court for Rwanda and the European Court of Human Rights, completed his third visit to Ukraine this Monday.
In addition to Mose, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Ukraine includes Colombian scholar and human rights activist Pablo de Greiff and Indian lawyer Vrinda Grover.
The commission was created by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine.
The results of the investigation will be presented to the UN General Assembly in October.
The cases most likely to be punished by international justice concern the torture of soldiers and civilians, the atrocities committed by the occupying forces on the battlefield, and the systematic attacks on electrical infrastructure.
During the third visit to Ukraine, the three experts met with the Ukrainian authorities, representatives of civil society, as well as witnesses and victims of alleged human rights violations committed in the context of the war.
In addition to Kyiv, they visited the central city of Uman, where they were investigating an April 28 Russian attack on a residential area that killed 24 civilians, including several children.
The Commission has documented persistent Russian attacks, such as Uman, which have hit civilian areas in Ukraine.
The UN experts recommended that Kyiv take steps to ensure a more comprehensive response from various Ukrainian state bodies competent in assisting the victims, so that they receive more effective and faster solutions.
The number of civilian and military casualties in the war, which began with the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have acknowledged that it will be high.
Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine has caused, according to the latest UN data, the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for the sake of Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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