A UN investigation has concluded that Russia committed crimes against humanity, including enforced disappearances and torture, during its war in Ukraine. These acts were part of a systematic attack against civilians, with detainees transferred to facilities where further abuses occurred. The report describes victims missing for extended periods and includes allegations of torture, including sexual violence. Additionally, Russian troops reportedly killed captured Ukrainian soldiers, indicating a policy against taking prisoners. The findings will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Geneva:
A United Nations investigation has determined that Russia has engaged in crimes against humanity, including enforced disappearances and torture, amid its conflict in Ukraine.
These atrocities were part of a deliberate and extensive assault on civilians, according to a new report by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which will be formally presented next week.
“The commission has found that Russian authorities engaged in enforced disappearances and torture as crimes against humanity,” the report stated.
“Both acts were carried out as part of a coordinated state policy during a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population,” it further noted.
The assertiveness of this claim is uncommon for UN investigators.
The report highlighted that numerous civilians were detained in regions under Russian control, with many subsequently transferred to detention centers in occupied Ukraine or Russia.
During these extended detentions, Russian authorities “committed additional violations and crimes,” the report indicated. Many victims have been unaccounted for over long periods, and some have died while in captivity.
Furthermore, these authorities have consistently failed to provide information regarding the whereabouts of the detainees.
The report asserted that Russia acted with the intention of removing disappeared individuals from “the protection of the law”.
Prisoners of war have also endured torture and enforced disappearances, infringing upon international humanitarian law, the commission reported.
The inquiry noted that Russia has “systematically employed torture against specific categories of detainees to extract information, coerce, and intimidate”.
Interrogations often involved the most severe forms of torture, and Russian authorities have “systematically inflicted sexual violence as a method of torture against male detainees”.
The commission also reported an increasing number of incidents where Russian troops killed or injured captured or surrendering Ukrainian soldiers, which qualifies as a war crime.
“Accounts from soldiers who have deserted the Russian army suggest there is a policy of executing rather than taking prisoners,” the report explained.
Russia commenced its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In March of that year, the UN Human Rights Council initiated a high-level inquiry to investigate violations and abuses during the conflict.
The independent report is set to be presented to the council next Tuesday.
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