PRESS RELEASE : HRC52 – Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine [March 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 21 March 2023.
Statement from UK’s Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, for the Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
Vice-President,
Commissioners, thank you.
Since you last briefed this Council thousands have been forcibly transferred to Russia or within Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine. And reports of rape, torture and killings continue to mount.
As you have concluded, several of the atrocities you uncovered amount to war crimes and some may amount to crimes against humanity. We welcome the progress made by the ICC investigation to hold those responsible for these barbaric acts to account. Russia is not just conducting a war against Ukrainian territory and statehood, but a war against Ukrainian civilians, the people – and very identity – of Ukraine. Civilians live in fear, undergo filtration, deportation and arbitrary detention. Those in detention include mayors in Russian controlled territories such as Ihor Kolykhaiev.
The suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people will have long-lasting consequences.
The UK is particularly concerned about the devastating impact on children – from severe disruption to education to deportation by the Russian authorities and attempts to erase their Ukrainian identity through re-education programmes.
Let’s be clear – there can be no impunity for these atrocities. The Ukrainian people deserve justice, and the UK will stand by them for as long as it takes.
Commissioners,
How does the progress in the ICC investigation affect your own?
