Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry in Ukraine is a United Nations commission of inquiry established by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022 with a mandate to investigate violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2] The Commission delivered its reports on 18 October 2022[3] and 16 March 2023.[4]
Creation[edit]
On 3 March 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) started debating the effect of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on human rights.[5] On 4 March, in resolution A/HRC/49/L.1, the UNHRC condemned the violations of human rights and international law caused by the full-scale Russian invasion, called for Russia to stop its violations in Ukraine, and for Russia to completely withdraw from internationally recognised Ukrainian territory to prevent further violations, and voted to establish an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine. The UNHRC passed the resolution with 32 states in favour, 13 absentions and 2 (Eritrea and Russia) against.[2][1]
The Russian representative on the UNHRC, Evgeny Ustinov, called the commission of inquiry "a mere waste of resources, which could better be used to help civilians in Ukraine".[6] Human Rights Watch expressed its support for the UNHRC to create a commission of inquiry into violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Ukraine by all groups involved.[7]
Aims[edit]
The goal of the commission was to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The commission was required to make recommendations based on its investigation, first in September 2022[8] to the 51st and 52nd sessions of the UNHRC and the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.[2]
Reports[edit]
October 2022 report[edit]
On 18 October 2022, the Commission published its report on events between the end of February and March 2022 in the four regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy. The Commission found that Russian armed forces were responsible for the great majority of human rights and international humanitarian law violations, but that Ukrainian forces also violated international humanitarian law, notably in two incidents that qualified as war crimes.[3]
March 2023 report[edit]
In a March 2023 report, the Commission found that Russia had committed numerous violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine, and that many of these breaches constituted war crimes.[9][10] Evidence gathered by the Commission included: