English Section

An independent report on Russian war crimes presented to the UN Security Council

29.10.2023 05:10
The weekend session of the UN Security Council witnessed a speech by Norwegian Erik Møse - Chairman of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. He used the opportunity to tell the Security Council members about torture, killings, unlawful confinement and other offences committed by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Posiedzenie Rady Bezpieczeństwa ONZ
Posiedzenie Rady Bezpieczeństwa ONZPAP/EPA/JASON SZENES

"These reports, based on numerous missions to Ukraine and other testimonies, show that the Russian authorities have committed a wide range of violations, many of which amount to war crimes," - the international commission's expert said.

According to Møse, the violations include willful killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful confinement, torture, rape and sexual violence, as well as forcible transfer and deportation of children. Other violations include the use of explosive weapons in populated settlements, including attacks on energy infrastructure facilities.

"Recent Commission’s investigations confirmed previous conclusions that the use of torture by the Russian authorities in places of detention located in Ukraine and the Russian Federation is large-scale and systematic" - Møse continued.

The offenders mainly tortured people who were "considered to be supporters of the Ukrainian government", beatings and electric shocks were often used, he explained, adding: "Other methods were also used."

According to its chairman, the Commission is currently studying in detail the impact on the civilian population of the attacks on the energy infrastructure launched by the Russian armed forces on October 10, 2022.

"Regarding both the use of torture and the attacks on energy infrastructure facilities, we continue our investigations to determine whether they amount to crimes against humanity" - the Norwegian expert concluded.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine was established by the Human Rights Council on March 4, 2022 to investigate violations of human rights, international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

The mandate of the Commission was extended on April 4, 2023 for another year.

The latest conclusions of the Commission on numerous war crimes and human rights violations were made public on October 20, 2023.

(mm)

Source: UKRinform, UNwebTV