The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting of the Council on Human Rights, Gender Equality and Diversity dedicated to the protection of the rights of prisoners of war and holding Russia accountable for torture of Ukrainian military.
On June 20, 2024, a regular meeting of the Council on Human Rights, Gender Equality and Diversity under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was held. The event was dedicated to ensuring the protection of the rights of prisoners of war, namely the facts of violations of these rights by the aggressor state in accordance with the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims of 1949.
The participants drew special attention to the massive cases of torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian occupiers, noting that about 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been tortured, raped, threatened with sexual violence or other forms of ill-treatment. It was emphasized that Russian military personnel have already used at least 14 of the 16 types of torture recognized by international law. Such actions of the Russian Federation constitute a gross violation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The facts of the systematic use of torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian military personnel undoubtedly indicate that such actions are a deliberate state policy of the Russian Federation.
The participants of the meeting emphasized the inadmissibility of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that Russia systematically applies to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages. During the discussion, representatives of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Office of the Prosecutor General, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and the diplomatic corps discussed mechanisms to counter such internationally illegal acts of the aggressor state, in particular in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with international partners, is making every effort to implement point 4 of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy`s Peace Formula, which provides for the release of all prisoners and deportees on the principle of "all for all." Work on the implementation of this point will continue until all Russian hostages held in Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, are released: prisoners of war, internees, civilians, forcibly displaced and deported persons, including children.
A separate topic of the event was the search for a Protecting Power - a neutral country that performs functions in accordance with Geneva Convention III. This is extremely important, as the Protecting Power has the right to: visit prisoners of war; assist in receiving correspondence and parcels; access medical records of prisoners of war; receive petitions regarding the conditions of captivity in which they are held, with the subsequent transfer of these petitions to the military authorities; find and provide lawyers for prisoners of war, etc.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War; the Ombudsman Office, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the International Criminal Court in Ukraine, as well as civil society, the diplomatic corps and international organizations accredited in Ukraine.
Following the meeting, the participants adopted a Joint Statement calling on the international community to provide effective assistance in implementing international mechanisms to help ease the fate of Ukrainian prisoners of war and return them home.