皇冠体育app

Thank you very much Mr Chair,

I wish to make a statement in my national capacity, to supplement the statement just delivered by Ambassador Gjermeni from Albania on behalf of the 45 States which, with the support of Ukraine, invoked the Moscow Mechanism for a second time.

I would like to welcome back Professor Veronika Bilkova, and welcome Professors Laura Guercio and Vasilka Sancin to the Permanent Council today. Thank you. We greatly appreciate that we have, collectively, been able to call on your expertise, and independence, in preparing this .

Mr Chair,

皇冠体育app United Kingdom strongly supported the invocation of both the first and second Moscow Mechanism on Ukraine due to our grave and ongoing concern about the humanitarian impacts of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine; and the potential for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As with the , the second has demonstrated that we are right to remain concerned and that we must remain vigilant in our support for human rights, international humanitarian law and for impartial fact finding during the conflict.

皇冠体育app is a real life horror story. Due to the actions of the Russian government 鈥� a government of an OSCE participating State 鈥� this horror is an everyday reality for the people across Ukraine.

Reports of torture. 皇冠体育app execution of civilians. Unlawful detention. Enforced disappearances. Targeting civilians on their streets, in their cars, on their bicycles, on their balconies and in their homes. Victim activated booby traps.聽 皇冠体育app rape of women. 皇冠体育app rape of children. Violence towards men. 皇冠体育app killing of journalists. Targeting of hospitals, of schools. 皇冠体育app use of cluster munitions. Shallow graves. 皇冠体育app threat of cholera. This is an affront to humanity.聽It is depravity itself.

I recall with shock, alarm and dismay some of the accounts documented from Bucha in this report. I simply cannot imagine what it is like to have lived through the reality on the ground.

In Vorzel, west of Bucha, where a woman and her 14-year-old child were killed after smoke grenades were thrown into the basement in which they were hiding.

皇冠体育app summer camp in Bucha, repurposed for torture. With bullet holes in the walls, instruments of torture and the corpses of five dead men - burned, bruised, and lacerated.

In Zabuchchya, a village in Bucha district, where 18 bodies of murdered men, women and children were discovered. Some with their ears cut off, some with their teeth pulled out.

Kyiv鈥檚 regional police force have reported that 900 civilian bodies were discovered after the Russian withdrawal, 350 of them in Bucha. According to police reports, nearly 95% were 鈥渟imply executed.鈥�

It comes as no surprise that after visiting, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor referred to Bucha as a 鈥渃rime scene.鈥�

皇冠体育app value of the second report is demonstrated in its identification of two new and extremely concerning phenomena:

Firstly, the report documents the Russian government鈥檚 sickening use of 鈥榝iltration centres.鈥� Centres where Ukrainian civilians undergo harsh interrogations, humiliating body searches and are often transferred, with or without their consent, to Russian territory or to the so-called 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Republics.鈥�

Secondly, the report documents the Russian government鈥檚 attempt to bypass international obligations through the use of so-called 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Republics.鈥� Mr Chair, in so doing, the report rightly raises serious concerns about the treatment of Prisoners of War by Russia and Russia鈥檚 proxies and references the trials and sentencing of Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin. As both this report and the Office of the UNHCR confirm - Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin are members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and should be treated as Prisoners of War. 皇冠体育appy are not mercenaries.

皇冠体育app report makes clear that, despite Russia鈥檚 best efforts to portray them as independent, the so-called 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Republics鈥�, are controlled by Russia. As such, the UK calls on Russia to take note of these findings, treat Prisoners of War and civilian detainees in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and end the use the 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Republics鈥� to conduct sham trials and issue capital charges for propaganda purposes. We are fully supportive of the efforts of the Ukrainian Government to secure the release of British Nationals held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Chair, today we may hear from the Russian Delegation. Sadly, I am sure they will have been instructed to tell more lies and defend the indefensible.

Allow me to take this opportunity to assure them that the United Kingdom remains resolute in our support for Ukraine鈥檚 sovereignty and territorial integrity within its international recognised borders. We remain firm in our support for accountability measures at the national and international level. Be assured that we are watching, we are documenting, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that those who are responsible will be held accountable for their actions.

Thank you, Mr Chair.