Attachments
Distinguished President,
Excellencies,
I am pleased to brief this Council, together with my colleagues Pablo de Greiff and Vrinda Grover, on the findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine at the end of its third mandate.
The armed conflict initiated by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine has led to over 12.000 killed and more than 29.000 injured civilians, large-scale destruction, and damage of civilian dwellings and infrastructure. For three years, the Commission has gathered evidence of grave violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as corresponding crimes.
During this mandate, the Commission has already concluded that Russian authorities have committed crimes against humanity of torture. In our present report, we have also found that the Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity of enforced disappearances. These crimes were carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, in all provinces of Ukraine where areas came under Russian control, and in the Russian Federation. They were perpetrated pursuant to a coordinated state policy and targeted categories of persons that Russian authorities perceived as a threat to their military objectives in Ukraine.
The Commission has interviewed a total of almost 1,800 persons, including victims and witnesses of violations and crimes. All aspects of its work are guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, integrity, and a victim-centred approach.
The liquidity crisis at the United Nations has severely affected the staffing of our secretariat and our ability to travel during the current mandate; yet we have continued our work, applying the established standard of proof.
The Commission reiterates its gratitude to all those who shared valuable information. We appreciate the cooperation by the Government of Ukraine. The Russian Federation has not responded to any of our 31 communications, including requests for information about incidents where the alleged victims were Russian.
Distinguished President,
Excellencies,
The Russian authorities have committed widespread enforced disappearances of civilians, as well as of prisoners of war. Large numbers of civilians were detained and subsequently transferred to detention facilities in occupied areas of Ukraine, or deported to the Russian Federation. They were subjected to additional grave violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence. Many of the victims have disappeared for months or years. Some have died.
Russian authorities at different levels have systematically failed to provide information on the detainees’ fate and whereabouts to family members, leaving them in agonizing uncertainty. Response letters from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, even when acknowledging the detention of some of the disappeared persons, did not disclose their whereabouts, invoking confidentiality. This deprived the victims of the protection of the law and rendered them vulnerable to further violations and crimes. The Commission concluded that Russian authorities have committed enforced disappearances as crimes against humanity.
The denial of information about those missing has violated the families’ right to know the truth. Many undertook considerable search efforts, at great risk, but often to no avail, and shared their deep feelings of anguish and desperation. A woman, whose family members have been missing since March 2022, told the Commission, “I just want the Russians to release and return my husband and son. They have ruined our lives. I can’t bear to think about their mental and physical health after more than two years in captivity.”
As regards torture as a crime against humanity, the Commission’s recent investigations further confirmed that the Federal Security Service (referred to as “FSB” in Russian) exercised the highest authority when present in detention facilities. They routinely committed or ordered torture at various stages of detention, particularly during interrogations, where some of the most brutal treatment was inflicted. A former detainee described how Federal Security Service officers subjected her to repeated electric shocks during questioning.
Dissatisfied with her answers, they stated, “If you will continue to deny, your brother will suffer, […] and do not forget that we can also bring your daughters here.”
We have previously concluded that Russian authorities systematically perpetrated sexual violence as a form of torture during detention. Most victims were men. The Commission has now documented new cases of rape and sexual violence, used as forms of torture against female detainees, who were subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment. Some women were raped during interrogation as a means to coerce, intimidate or punish them; others were subjected to forced nudity in the presence of male guards. This illustrates the gendered dimension of sexual violence in detention. A victim of rape told the Commission, “I can’t describe all of it… Those drunk, stinking men, tearing my clothes, treating me like I was a rubber doll… It was unbearable”.
The Commission has further investigated an increasing number of incidents in which Russian armed forces killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender. This constitutes war crimes. Our investigators have been able to interview soldiers who deserted from the Russian armed forces. Several of them told the Commission that they had received orders not to take prisoners but kill them instead, which points to a coordinated policy in this regard. For instance, one soldier heard how a battalion commander stated, “We don’t take prisoners. Those Nazis should not be taken in captivity, they should be killed.”
We also found that both parties to the armed conflict, using drones, killed or wounded visibly injured soldiers, hors de combat. This constitutes war crimes.
Finally, the Commission documented some cases in which Ukrainian authorities committed human rights violations against persons they suspected of collaboration with Russian authorities.
Distinguished President,
Excellencies,
The wide array of violations and crimes committed during three years have caused unspeakable suffering. Victims were often subjected to a complex range of violations and crimes, involving extreme forms of physical and psychological violence and deprivation of basic rights. Family members have had to cope with the death of loved ones or prolonged separations.
The Commission stresses the importance of judicial and non-judicial accountability in all its forms, to support the recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration in society of the victims. They have emphasised the importance of the perpetrators being held to account. Judicial accountability remains key to ensuring that perpetrators of violations and crimes are identified and held responsible for their acts, and to end the cycle of impunity. Both forms of accountability contribute to the sustainability of peace processes.