War in Ukraine - Growing Evidence of War Crimes says UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

25-04-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, discussed, on the 22nd of April 2022, the lack of respect for international law and the growing evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. It has nearly been two months since the Russian Federation unlawfully invaded the sovereign territory of Ukraine and, as a consequence, Ukraine has been plunged into a human rights and humanitarian crisis. It is for those reasons that Michelle Bachelet called for both Russia and Ukraine to respect international human rights and humanitarian law, in particular the conduct of hostilities. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights states the following as an example: 

“What we saw in Government-controlled Kramatorsk on 8 April when cluster sub-munitions hit the railway station, killing 60 civilians and injuring 111 others, is emblematic of the failure to adhere to the principle of distinction, the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks and the principle of precaution enshrined in international humanitarian law”. 

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has recorded and verified, as of the 20th of April 2022, 5,264 civilian casualties during this ongoing conflict. Although the Mission is aware that the “numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in areas of intense fighting, such as Mariupol, come to light” they are already aware of the summary executions of civilians in areas previously occupied by Russian armed forces emerging. It was reminded during the press release that the willful killing of protected persons is a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law and can even amount to war crimes.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has also documented an array of other human rights violations such as to the right to health, allegations of sexual violence towards vulnerable persons and the unlawful detention of civilians.   

Sources and further reading:

United Nations. (2022, April 22). Bachelet Urges Respect for International Humanitarian Law Amid Growing Evidence of War Crimes in Ukraine. Press Release – Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved on April 25, 2022, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/04/bachelet-urges-respect-international-humanitarian-law-amid-growing-evidence