Geneva, Switzerland
Reuters
The United Nations’ human rights chief said on Thursday that tens of millions of lives were at risk in Ukraine as the conflict there intensified.
Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate halt to hostilities as she opened a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on setting up an international commission of inquiry into alleged violations by Russia.
“Tens of millions of people remain in the country, in potentially mortal danger. I am deeply concerned that the current escalation of military operations will further heighten the harm they face,” Bachelet said.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet delivers a speech at the opening of a session of the UN Human Rights Council, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28th February. PICTURE: Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via Reuters.
Russia’s ambassador to the council, Gennady Gatilov, dismissed calls for an inquiry, denounced what he called the “criminal regime in Kyiv” and accused the United States and EU of supplying lethal weapons.
“We do not see any added value in today’s debate,” he said.
Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, told the talks by video message that Russian troops were carrying out acts tantamount to war crimes and called for perpetrators to be held accountable.
“Recent events clearly point to the fact that the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine carry out the most blatant violations and abuses of human rights, systematically engage in acts that clearly amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she said.
Dzhaparova urged the council to adopt a resolution brought by Ukraine and allies including the United States and European Union that would launch the international inquiry. The resolution is expected to be adopted in a vote on Friday, Western diplomats said.
“Deeply alarmed”
Hundreds of Russian soldiers and Ukrainian civilians have been killed since President Vladimir Putin sent his troops over the border on 24th February.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation”, denies targeting civilians and says its aim is to “disarm” Ukraine and arrest leaders it falsely calls neo-Nazis.
France’s ambassador Jerome Bonnafont, speaking for the EU, said: “The gravity of the situation fully justifies the creation of a commission of inquiry. Russia must be held accountable for its acts.”
US ambassador Sheba Crocker told the forum: “We are deeply alarmed by daily reports of civilian casualties and of Russia’s deployment of weapons such as cluster munitions and thermobarics against cities where innocent people are sheltering.”
China’s ambassador, Chen Xu, in a speech that did not refer to Russia, said that Beijing always opposed the politicisation of human rights issues and “opposes using human rights issues as a pretext to exert pressure on other countries”.
“Therefore we oppose establishing an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine,” Chen said.
A team from the International Criminal Court in The Hague left for “the Ukraine region” on Thursday to see if there was evidence of atrocities by all sides, its top prosecutor told Reuters.
Karim Khan told Reuters his office would see if there was evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide – the offences under the court’s jurisdiction – by all parties in the conflict.
Asked about reports of artillery strikes in Ukraine’s towns and cities, Khan said: “Any side that targets, directly targets, civilians or civilian objects is committing a crime under the Rome Statute and under international humanitarian law,” referring to the statue that created the court.
The International Criminal Court, which has 123 member states, prosecutes individuals responsible for the worst atrocities when a country is unable or unwilling to do so.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC and Moscow does not recognise the tribunal, which opened in The Hague in 2002.
Ukraine signed a declaration in 2014 giving the court jurisdiction over alleged grave crimes committed on its territory from 2014 onwards regardless of the nationality of the perpetrators.
“Law of war”
“The law of war continues to apply and we have clear jurisdiction,” Khan said. “This is a reminder to all factions, to all parties to the conflict, that they must conduct themselves in compliance with the laws of war.”
If war crimes are found to have been committed in Ukraine, Khan said, his office would follow the evidence up the chain of command, to the highest levels of political and military office.
“Anybody involved in conflict needs to realise they don’t have a licence to commit crimes,” he said.
The initial prosecution team dispatched on Thursday was made up of investigators, lawyers, and people with particular experience in operational planning, he added.
Prosecutors have said they will also examine possible crimes in the conflict dating back to Russia’s occupation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and the activities of pro-Russian separatists in Donbass. Khan’s office has previously said it had reasonable grounds to believe violations took place in Ukraine.
The prosecutor’s 2020 annual report based on preliminary investigations cited suspected killings and torture in Crimea and attacks on civilians, torture, murder and rape in eastern Ukraine.
– Additional reporting by ANTHONY DEUTSCH and PAUL CARREL.
