Human Rights House Foundation statement
HRC57 – Item 4 – Interactive Dialogue – Ukraine COI
24 September 2024
Check against delivery.
Thank you, Vice-President.
We welcome Ukraine’s ratification of the Rome Statute and further call on all states who have ratified the statute, including Mongolia, to ensure they fulfill their legal obligations under that treaty.
We urge the Commission of Inquiry to further strengthen efforts to document the situation of Ukrainian children who have come under the control of the Russian Federation. In 2024, the Regional Centre for Human Rights noted that over 40,000 Ukrainian children had been taken to so-called re-education camps by Russia.
Furthermore, Zmina Human Rights Centre notes that Belarus is participating in the systematic practice of displacement, re-education, Russification and militarization of Ukrainian children, and that at least 2,200 children have been displaced to Belarus.
Vice-President.
Maksym Butkevych, a renowned Ukrainian human rights defender, has been subjected to an unfair trial and a thirteen-year prison sentence. Captured by Russian forces while serving in the Ukrainian army, his trial was devoid of any fair trial guarantees. The baseless charges leveled against him, and his forced self-incrimination underscore underscores the repressive tactics used against prisoners of war. We call for his immediate release and for accountability for the war crimes committed in such sham proceedings.
In light of these grave violations, we ask the Commissioners if they can further detail international efforts to ensure the safe return of civilian detainees and prisoners, and how these initiatives can best be supported.
Thank you.
