PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC54 – UK Statement on Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

UK statement for Interactive Dialogue with the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Delivered by the UK’s Ambassador to the WTO & UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Mr President and welcome Commissioners.

A year ago, Russia attempted to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, following its organisation of sham referendums on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Since then, Russia’s attempts to consolidate control in these regions have been characterised by repression, violence and a total disregard for human life. Evidence, including that collected through the invaluable work of this Commission, shows widespread and systematic atrocities committed by Russian forces, many of which may amount to war crimes.

So, we have a simple message to Russia: we see through your farcical claims that this is a war of liberation. You can’t liberate people by shelling them, nor by torturing them, nor by deporting them and their children. Just as you can’t change borders by force – no matter how many sham referendums or elections you hold.

It is time to end this war and withdraw your forces – in line with your obligations under the Charter.

Commissioners, thank you from us all for the vital work over the last 16 months.

Ukrainian children have been relentlessly targeted as part of Russia’s efforts to erase Ukrainian identity and culture – including through their large-scale forced transfer and deportation to Russia and Russian-controlled territory.

So Commissioners, are you carrying out further investigations into the forcible transfer of children, including the widely reported use of so-called “summer camps” for systematic political indoctrination?

Thank you.