By Janet Ekstract
NEW YORK- On Friday, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine – a UN-mandated body, reported on its investigation that said it found evidence that “war crimes have been committed” by Russia. The commission presented their report to the UN Human Rights Council and commission chief Erik Mose, explaining their findings are based on investigations in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and the Sumy regions. Violations committed since February 2022, include the illegal use of explosive weapons, indiscriminate attacks, executions, torture and sexual and gender-based violence. Mose said: “We were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited.”
Mose added: “We are concerned about the suffering that the international armed conflict in Ukraine has imposed on the civilian population.” He commented that the commission’s work into investigating further executions is ongoing in 16 towns and settlements. Mose further stated that the commission received credible allegations of a multitude of additional cases. The report stated that cases have been documented and include prior detention of victims with clear signs of execution that included hands bound behind their backs, gunshot wounds to the head and slit throats. The report further stated: “The commission has documented cases in which children have been raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined. Children have also been killed and injured in indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons.” The report added: “The exposure to repeated explosions, crimes, forced displacement and separation from family members, deeply affected their well-being and mental health.”
To date, the commission visited 27 towns and settlements, interviewing over 150 victims and witnesses. The investigation also included inspections of sites of destruction, graves and places of detention and torture along with consulting numerous documents and reports. The report also indicated its findings of two incidents of ill-treatment of Russian soldiers by Ukrainian forces which it commented: “While few in number, such cases continue to be the subject of the commission’s attention.” The commission’s visit in June yielded a first-hand account of extensive and widespread damage that explosive weapons with wide-area effects caused to residential buildings and infrastructure in populated areas with schools and hospitals.
Meanwhile, the commission expressed its gratitude to the Ukrainian government for its “access and cooperation.” It also stated, “attempts to engage in a constructive dialogue with Russian Federation authorities have regretfully, so far, not been successful, but we will persist in our efforts.” Current figures from the UN Human Rights Office report 14,532 civilian casualties in Ukraine with 5,916 killed – 8,616 injured since the invasion began on February 24 but those numbers are likely much higher.
