KYIV (10 September 2023) – Russia’s armed aggression
is becoming synonymous with torture and other inhuman
cruelty, a UN expert said today.
“The volume of
credible allegations of torture and other inhumane acts that
are being perpetrated against civilians and prisoners of war
by Russian authorities appears to be unabating,” said
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“These grievous acts appear neither random nor incidental,
but rather orchestrated as part of a State policy to
intimidate, instil fear, punish, or extract information and
confessions,” Edwards said in a statement at the end of an
official visit to Ukraine.
The UN torture expert
gathered harrowing testimonies involving electric charges
being applied to ears and genitals, beatings of all kinds,
mock executions at gunpoint, simulated drowning, being
required to hold stress positions, threats of rape or death,
and various ceremonies of ridicule and humiliation. Returned
Ukrainian civilians and soldiers recounted being crowded in
basements and cells, in congested conditions, and being
poorly fed. Several lost dangerous levels of
weight.
Edwards said these acts would constitute
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, prohibited at all times and in all circumstances
under international human rights and humanitarian
law.
“Because the global prohibition of torture
reflects our shared aspiration to live in societies free of
fear, perpetrators – including at the highest levels – must
be brought to justice,” she stressed.
During the
Special Rapporteur’s visit from 4-10 September, she
reviewed the procedures and practices of investigation and
prosecution of such crimes of torture committed within the
context of the armed conflict. According to Ukrainian
government figures, over 103,000 war crimes proceedings have
been registered so far.
“A major challenge for the
authorities is handling the enormity of the allegations,
which has required the upscaling of operations, staffing and
skill sets,”, said the Special Rapporteur. “The work
that the Ukrainian authorities are undertaking to document
war crimes is all the more impressive given that it is being
carried out ‘in real time’. That early action is
virtually unprecedented anywhere in the
world.”
“The international duty on every country
to investigate and prosecute crimes of torture and other
inhuman acts is not altered by war or other exceptional
circumstances. Yet these circumstances would pose great
challenges for any system,” the expert said.
Edwards
was briefed on multiple obstacles to achieving justice for
victims. These include the inaccessibility of presently
occupied areas, the loss of crucial evidence due to
deterioration and lapse of time between the crime and
liberation when investigations can begin, and adapting the
criminal justice system to be able to process and prosecute
international atrocity crimes.
The Ukrainian
government reported having strengthened its system of
regional prosecutors by establishing mobile investigation
units, has expanded forensic expertise and testing
facilities, and is upgrading technology and
evidence-gathering techniques.
During her seven-day
visit to Ukraine, the Special Rapporteur also visited
different places and facilities and inspected the conditions
of treatment of Russian prisoners of war and those accused
of conflict-related crimes.
“I found that sincere
efforts have been made by the Ukrainian authorities to treat
Russian prisoners of war respectfully. The barrack-style
facilities I visited were hygienic and orderly. Prisoners
were being well fed, were receiving medical attention for
their battlefield injuries, were able to practice their
religion and had paid work and recreational facilities,”
Edwards said.
The Special Rapporteur met with senior
government officials, members of the Supreme Court, all the
services involved in investigating and prosecuting crimes of
torture, the Coordination Headquarters on the Treatment of
Prisoners of War, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for
Human Rights (Ombudsman) and National Preventive Mechanism.
She had also met with representatives of the diplomatic
community, the United Nations, and civil society
organisations. She conducted a range of interviews with
persons deprived of their liberty, as well as victims and
survivors.
The Special Rapporteur will present a
report on the visit to the United Nations Human Rights
Council in March
2024.
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