34th Special Session of the Human Rights Council: The deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression
Simon Manley, UK Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, said that it is clear that Russia’s brutal campaign of violence against the Ukrainian people deserves our ongoing attention.
Mr President,
Since this Council last met, Russia’s unprovoked and illegal aggression against Ukraine has continued unabated. This Council has a responsibility to protect human rights around the globe and it is clear that Russia’s brutal campaign of violence against the Ukrainian people deserves our ongoing attention.
As we meet today, we do so with the greatest admiration for the steadfast resolve of the people of Ukraine. They have not been defeated. Ukraine will prevail.
Russia’s aggression is an attack, first and foremost, on the people of Ukraine. But it is also an attack on the fundamental principles of international law and a clear violation of the UN Charter – the legal order that underpins all our security, all our freedoms.
We have heard reports of horrifying atrocities in Irpin and Bucha, including the indiscriminate killing of civilians, of mass graves, of sexual violence and torture. And we have seen evidence of the forced removal of civilians to Russia by Russian armed forces.
We have watched in horror the bombardment of towns and cities across Ukraine. In Mariupol, the attacks on the Azovstal steel plant left innocent civilians including women, children and the elderly trapped for months without adequate food, water or medical supplies.
We don’t yet have the full picture of atrocities taking place. But already the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has verified more than 7000 civilian casualties including more than 3000 deaths. As the High Commissioner said this morning, the actual figures of civilians killed are significantly higher, and still growing.
All allegations of violations and abuses of human rights must be investigated thoroughly and we support the work of this Council’s Commission of Inquiry and the International Criminal Court. Those responsible must be held to account.
We cannot look away while this barbarity unfolds. We must show that the international community is watching, and that we care. And that Ukraine will win.
Slava Ukraini.