On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly to renew the mandate of the investigative body tasked with investigating possible war crimes committed since the start of the invasion. on a large scale from Ukraine by Russia.
Twenty-eight countries voted in favor of the one-year extension of the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, seventeen abstained and two countries voted against, including China.
“The scale and brutality of Russian atrocities in Ukraine are beyond human comprehension,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Yevgenia Filipenko said ahead of the council’s vote. “We strongly believe that the Commission’s continued work to investigate, document and report on human rights violations and international crimes committed against the people of Ukraine can save more innocent lives (and) can contribute to accountability and justice for victims.
Recall that in a report published last month, the commission found that crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine, including the use of torture and attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, could constitute crimes against humanity.
The commission found that around 16,000 children had been illegally abducted and deported from Ukraine, citing data from the Ukrainian government.
“Putin’s war has had dire humanitarian consequences in Ukraine, across Europe, and around the world, and the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children is heinous,” said the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United States. Counsel, Michelle Taylor.
German Ambassador Katarina Stasch called the children’s deportation “an attempt to steal Ukraine’s future”.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has no legally binding powers, but can refer evidence of crimes to national and international courts that conduct investigations.
The extension of the warrant comes at a time when the International Criminal Court is expected to seek the arrest of Russian officials for deporting children from Ukraine and attacking civilian infrastructure.
