Ukraine Investigation Committee: Cases of enforced disappearance in the country amount to crimes against humanity

In the report submitted by the committee today, Wednesday, in front of the fifty -eighth session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva, the committee stated that the Russian authorities detained large numbers of civilians in all the provinces that it controlled in Ukraine, and that among the victims were members of the local authorities, government employees, journalists, and others considered them a threat to its military targets in Ukraine. Many prisoners of war also fell victim to enforced disappearance.

The report pointed out that the Russian authorities have often transferred the victims to detention centers in the areas occupied by Russia in Ukraine or their journey to the Russian Federation, and there, they also subjected them to violations and other severe crimes, including torture and sexual violence. Many people have been lost months ago, or even years.

The committee indicated that some of the detainees died, while the fate and location of the presence of many are still unknown, which leaves their families in a state of painful uncertainty.

The committee said that the evidence that was collected concluded that the enforced disappearances of civilians were committed in accordance with a coordinated government policy and promoted to the level of crimes against humanity.

Murder

The committee examined an increasing number of incidents in which the Russian armed forces killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or tried to surrender, adding that this constitutes war crimes.

She pointed out that the investigators managed to meet soldiers who fled the Russian armed forces, as many of them told the committee that they had received orders not to capture the Ukrainian soldiers, but rather killed them. She added that this indicates a coordinated policy.

The committee also revealed that the two parties to the armed conflict, using drones, killed or wounded soldiers with phenomenon wounds who are no longer able to defend themselves, indicating that this is a war crime.

The report also referred to some violations of the Human Rights Law committed by the Ukrainian authorities against people who accused them of cooperation with the Russian authorities.

The committee again stressed the importance of judicial and non -judicial accountability in all its forms, because of its role in sustaining peace operations.