Executive Summary
Some of the most serious violations include the targeted killing of civilians, including journalists, human rights defenders or local mayors; Most, if not all, violations have been committed in the areas under the de facto control of the Russian Federation, including the areas of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and are largely attributable to the Russian Federation.
Introduction and Mandate
These three experts are: Mrs. Veronika Bílková3 (Czech Republic), mrs. Laura Guercio4 (Italy) and Mrs. Vasilka Sancin5 (Slovenia).6 The mission of experts was officially established on 7 June 2022.7. The purpose of an expert mission is "to facilitate the solution of a particular issue or problem related to the human dimension".8 The mission may "collect the information necessary for the performance of its tasks and, as appropriate, use its services good and mediation. services to promote dialogue and cooperation between interested parties".9 The inviting state has the obligation to cooperate fully with the mission of experts and to facilitate its work.
Methodology
The mission also found that some violations of IHRL likely amount to crimes against humanity. The mission has identified legal obligations arising in relation to alleged violations of IHL and IHRL and the alleged commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Scope of the mandate
In accordance with the request of the inviting country of Ukraine, the mission decided to repeat the structure of the previous report with seven main chapters in this report. The Mission took into account Ukraine's comments on the first report.
Methods of Fact-Finding
Applicable International Standards
- International Humanitarian law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Criminal Law
- OSCE Commitments
- Alleged Violations of International Humanitarian Law
21 Resolution CM/Res(2022)2 on the termination of the membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe, 16 March 2022. The Russian Federation has not accepted any deviation in the context of the current conflict.
Treatment of Persons in The Power of the Enemy
- Wounded, Sick And Shipwrecked as Well as Medical Personnel
- Respect For the Dead
- Prisoners of War (POWs)
- Civilians
- International Humanitarian Law of Military Occupation
Forced Disappearance of Ukrainian Teacher, Human Rights Watch, June 13, 2022, at https://www.hrw.org/news russia-enforced-disappearance-ukrainian-teacher. April 6, 2022, at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/barbarians-russian-troops-leave-grisly-mark-on-ukraine-town-of-trostianets.
Conduct of Hostilities
General Assessment of Violations of IHL Rules on Targeting
As of June 22, 2022, the situation in Donbass is dire, especially in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, and eastern Donetsk region. Meanwhile, water supply is said to be limited in the city of Donetsk, Donetsk Oblast. 168.
Sieges and Humanitarian Corridors
180 Ukrainian service, Ukraine says seven humanitarian corridors agreed as Russian forces focus on Southeast, RFE/RL, April 5, 2022, at https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-southeast-humanitarian-corridors /31786842.html . 181 Ruslan Rehimov, 'Ukraine says 10 humanitarian corridors agreed for civilian evacuation, AA News, April 9, 2022, at https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/ukraine-says-10-humanitarian-corridors-agreed - for-civil-evacuation/2559506.
Targeted Attacks on Individual Civilians
189 New Evidence Shows How Russian Soldiers Executed Men in Bucha, The New York Times, 21 May 2022, at https://www.nytimes.com world/europe/russia-bucha-ukraine-executions.html?smtyp=. 190 United Nations Human Rights Officer, Plight of civilians in Ukraine, 10 May 2022, at https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2022/05/plight-civilians-ukraine.
Arming of the Civilian Population
Human Shields
According to the Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman, Russian soldiers have used Ukrainian children as human shields in Sumy, Kiev, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.200 In the village of Novyi Bykiv, near the besieged city of Chernihiv, 106 kilometers north of Kyiv. , baby carriages were allegedly placed in front of the tanks, according to several eyewitnesses from the recently liberated city of Bucha, near Kiev. Russia claims that human shields were used on the Ukrainian side.202 The mission was unable to establish the basis for this claim, but could gather some information from the media and a video published by Der Spiegel reporting the testimony of a Ukrainian woman who accused the forces Ukrainian and Azov. fighters to use the civilians trapped in the Azovstal plant as human shields.203 At the same time, during the visit to Ukraine, the representative of the state body ruled out the use of civilians as shields.
Passive Precautions to be Taken by the Defender
The Ukrainian government makes every effort to keep prisoners informed and provide them with food, water and medical care. Moreover, Ukrainian institutions stated that the Ukrainian government is making every effort to evacuate prisoners from prisons that may soon be occupied, as well as the most dangerous areas.
Specially Protected Objects
The Guardian, 2 april 2022, op https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/15/ukrainian-heritage-under-threat-truth-sovjet-era-russia. 223 Is Ukraine's cultural heritage under coordinated attack?, The Art Newspaper, 10 juni 2022, op https://www.theartnewspaper.com is-ukraines-cultural-heritage-under-coordinated-attack.
Use of Weapons
Ukraine: Cluster Munitions Repeatedly Used on Mykolaiv, Human Rights Watch, March 17, 2022, at https://www.hrw.org/news ukraine-cluster-munitions-repeatedly-used-mykolaiv;. 269 Ukraine: Russia Uses Banned Antipersonnel Landmines, Human Rights Watch, March 29, 2022, at https://www.hrw.org/news ukraine-russia-uses-banned-antipersonnel-landmin.
Unlawful Methods of Warfare
Naval Warfare
Authorities in coastal countries have detected and disabled drift mines in the Western Black Sea. 285 Russia confirms suspension of movement of commercial vessels in Azov Sea – Interfax, Reuters, 24 February 2022, at https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-russia-shipping-grains-az-idAFR4N2U2026.
Conclusions
Alleged Violations and Abuses of International Human Rights Law
Impact of the Conflict on Civil and Political Rights
Right to Life
The incidents that took place in Bucha and the surrounding area during the period of the Russian occupation are now under investigation by the ICC. At least two other foreigners are fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces, the American citizens Alexander.
Prohibition of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment
Surrendering persons detained by the Russian military forces to such courts for trial constitutes, in addition, a violation of the right to life. Ill-treatment of civilians by members of the Russian armed forces has also been reported from other temporarily occupied territories.
Right to Liberty and Security
The First Mission also expressed concern at reports of the detention of large numbers of Ukrainian civilians and their mass displacement to areas under the de facto control of the Russian Federation or even to Russian territory. 405 Interview with the former commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament for human rights Lyudmila Denisova, in the archive of the authors of the report.
Right to a Fair Trial
The first trials for alleged war crimes have also started in the Russian Federation. Moreover, although the Russian Federation seeks to distance itself from the two so-called People's Republics, as was clearly visible in the reaction of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Rights to Freedom of Expression
However, he also notes that "disinformation cannot be dealt with by blocking or banning media outlets".443 The fifth area concerns the erosion of respect for the right to freedom of expression in the Russian Federation and the use of criminal law tools to silence any critics of the war against Ukraine. Media, Internet providers or social networks that make information about the conflict in Ukraine accessible to the Russian public are threatened with criminal prosecution and required to remove the information.445 In the temporarily occupied territories, Ukrainian media are replaced.
Other Civil and Political Rights
The conflict in Ukraine affected the right to freedom of movement recognized by Article 12 of the ICCPR and Article 2 of Protocol no. 4 of the ECHR. The conflict in Ukraine has had a profound impact on the right to private and family life, as provided by Article 23 of the ICCPR and Article 8 of the ECHR, to many, if not all, residents of Ukraine.
Impact of the Conflict on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Right to Education
- Right to Health
- Right to Social Security
- Right to Food and Water
- Right to a Healthy Environment
Thirdly, the situation is particularly complicated in the areas under the de facto control of the Russian Federation. 517 Interviews with the inhabitants of the Kherson region, registered with the authors of the report.
Impact of the Conflict on Vulnerable Groups
- Women
- Children
- Older Persons
- Persons with Disabilities
- National and Ethnic Minorities
- LGBTQ Persons
- Watchdogs (Human Rights Defenders and Other Activists)
- Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
A much larger number of Ukrainian older persons have become indirect victims of the current conflict. Older persons living in the areas outside the control of the Ukrainian authorities also face special challenges.
Conclusions
Ensuring Accountability for War Crimes, Human Rights Violations and Crimes
Fact-Finding Mechanisms
Ad hoc acceptance of the IHFFC would however still be an option and the second mission is convinced that the investigation carried out by the IHFFC would usefully complement the work of the other fact-finding mechanisms mentioned above. The second mission would like to add that fact-finding tasks related to the conflict in Ukraine, although without any formal mandate, have been carried out since the outbreak of the conflict by various Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian non-governmental organizations.
Responsibility Mechanism
Responsibility of the State
The second mission commends these organizations for their work and for sharing some of the conclusions of this work with the mission and emphasizes the importance of constructive cooperation between different entities engaged in similar activities. To the extent that these cases relate to IHRL violations in the current conflict, the findings of the first and second missions may be of interest to them.
Individual Criminal Responsibility
The ICC is addressing the situation in Ukraine on the basis of a proposal submitted in early March 2022 by 41 States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC.664 Although neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation has ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC can act on this referral thanks to the fact that Ukraine On April 9, 2014 and September 8, 2015, it made two declarations, Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, which gave the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over all crimes committed. At the time of filing this report, the investigation into the situation in Ukraine is ongoing and no individual defenders have been identified, no arrest warrants have been issued, and no cases have been filed.
General Conclusions
Ukraine's comments on the report of the expert mission established to address violations of international humanitarian aid. The respect for the guarantees of a fair trial during the trials raises doubts.” [page 75 of the report].