The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the adoption by the UN Human Rights Council of the resolution "Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression", initiated by Ukraine.

This document extends the mandate of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine for a further period of one year to investigate violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.

The UN Human Rights Council has reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, strongly condemned Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine in violation of the Charter of United Nations, as well as the illegal actions of the Russian Federation to organize of the so-called "elections" within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.

The resolution also strongly condemns gross violations by the aggressor state of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the unlawful detention of Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity, deportation and forced transfer of civilians, including children, torture and cruel treatment, ongoing attacks on civilians and infrastructure resulting in numerous casualties and depriving citizens of access to vital services, as well as the destruction of cultural heritage and environmental crimes.

The UN Human Rights Council emphasized the need to ensure accountability for human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes, as well as the importance of collecting, preserving, and analyzing evidence, noting the establishment of the International Register of Damages caused by the Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The UN Human Rights Council calls on the Russian Federation to cease the deportation of Ukrainian children and to take all measures to ensure their safe return without preconditions, to stop the illegal mobilization of residents of temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine into the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

The need for the immediate and unconditional repatriation of seriously wounded and seriously sick prisoners of war, as well as the release of all civilians detained in violation of international humanitarian law was especially emphasized. Furthermore, the Council has called on the Russian Federation to immediately end the use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including those involving sexual and gender-based violence, against both civilians and prisoners of war.

We are grateful to those UN Human Rights Council’s Member States that supported this document, which is an important element to ensure accountability for those responsible for committing war crimes during Russian aggression against our state.

Note: resolution "Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression" was adopted by a vote of 27 in favour, 3 against and 17 abstentions