As part of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian forces have committed crimes against humanity in the form of enforced disappearances of civilians, which are widespread and systematic.
That’s according to the latest report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Violations in Ukraine.
The UN commission stated that the Russian authorities detained a large number of civilians in all the territories of Ukraine it has occupied. The victims of such disappearances were representatives of local authorities, civil servants, journalists, and other individuals whom the Russian authorities “perceived as a threat to their military objectives in Ukraine”. Many prisoners of war have also become victims of enforced disappearances.
“Russian authorities often transferred the victims to detention facilities in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine or deported them to the Russian Federation. There, they also subjected them to other grave violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence. Many persons have been missing for months, or years. Some have died. The fate and whereabouts of many remain unknown, leaving their families in agonizing uncertainty,” the Commission noted.
According to the report by the Independent International Commission, in response to appeals from the families of the missing, Russian authorities at various levels “provided standard replies, which systematically failed to communicate the fate or whereabouts of those disappeared”. This refusal to provide information to the families of the victims also “shows the intention of the Russian authorities to deprive the victims of the protection of the law”.
“The evidence gathered led the Commission to conclude that the enforced disappearances against civilians were perpetrated pursuant to a coordinated state policy and amount to crimes against humanity,” the press release states.
It is also recalled that the Commission previously concluded that the Russian authorities “have used torture as crimes against humanity”. Its recent investigations further confirmed that when personnel of the Federal Security Service were present in detention facilities, they exercised “the highest authority”. They committed or ordered torture at various stages of detention, and in particular during interrogations, when some of the most brutal treatment was inflicted.
“The Commission has previously described the systematic use of sexual violence as a form of torture by Russian authorities in detention facilities, mostly against men. It has now documented new cases of rape and sexual violence amounting to torture against detained women. Russian authorities subjected female detainees to sexual violence, including rape, and inhuman conditions reflecting the gendered nature and impact of the treatment inflicted on women in detention,” the Commission said.
In addition, it has recorded “a growing number of incidents in which Russian armed forces killed or wounded Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender”.
“This constitutes war crimes. The 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. This points to a coordinated policy,” the Commission said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Violations in Ukraine was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law, as well as related crimes in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. The Commission is composed of Erik Møse (Chair), Pablo de Greiff, and Vrinda Grover.
Photo: UN
Source: Abductions, torture: UN commission reports on Russian war crimes in Ukraine
