What's In Blue

Posted Sun 12 Jan 2025
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Arria-formula Meeting on Ukraine

Tomorrow afternoon (13 January), there will be an Arria-formula meeting titled “Violations of international humanitarian law against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees”. The meeting is being organised by the UK, with co-sponsorship from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the US.

The anticipated briefers include Pablo de Greiff, a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Ukraine; Valerii Horishnii, a former prisoner of war (POW), senior sergeant, and instructor at Ukraine’s National Guard, who fought in the 2022 battle of Mariupol and spent two years in Russian captivity; Nariman Dzhelyal, a Crimean Tatar journalist and activist who was sentenced in September 2022 to 17 years in prison by the Russian-controlled “Supreme Court of Crimea” in connection with an alleged gas pipeline sabotage case and was subsequently returned to Ukraine in June 2024; and Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights defender, journalist, civic activist, and military serviceman, who was held in Russian captivity for over two years and, in March 2023, was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony. He was returned to Ukraine in October 2024.

The meeting, which will begin at 3 pm EST and take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, will be broadcast on UNTV.

According to the concept note for the meeting, the purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is to “draw attention to the mounting evidence of Russia’s gross violations of international humanitarian law that demands immediate action”. The meeting seeks to shed light on the “ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs and civilian detainees, including torture, summary executions and other forms of inhumane treatment” and, in doing so, to “send a clear message to Russia that it must comply with international humanitarian law, including by ensuring full and unimpeded access of a human rights monitoring mechanism to Ukrainian POWs”.

The concept note says that the COI on Ukraine has consistently reported that Russian authorities have “tortured Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion, violating international humanitarian law, and that members of Russia’s armed forces and other officials have allegedly committed war crimes”. (The COI on Ukraine was established by the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022 through resolution 49/1 to “investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation”, and other related matters.)

In its latest report, submitted to the General Assembly on 25 October 2024, the COI concluded that Russian authorities’ use of torture against Ukrainian civilians and POWs constitutes a crime against humanity. The COI found this torture to be widespread, systematic, and part of a coordinated state policy across all occupied Ukrainian regions and Russian detention centres. The report highlights the prevalence of sexual violence as a form of torture in detention as well as the consistent denial of medical care for POWs. Methods included rape, beatings, electric shocks, genital mutilation, forced nudity, threats of sexual violence, and invasive body searches. The COI emphasised the urgent need for accountability to confront this culture of impunity.

A 1 October 2024 report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), titled “Treatment of Prisoners of War and Update on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine” and covering developments between 1 June and 31 August 2024, documents the execution of 42 unarmed Ukrainian servicemen since 24 February 2022. The report also determines that Ukrainian POWs have endured “widespread and systematic” torture and ill-treatment by Russian authorities. Over 97 percent of Ukrainian POWs interviewed by OHCHR since March 2023 reported consistent accounts of abuse in Russian custody. The report further stresses that Russian public figures have openly called for inhumane treatment and even execution of Ukrainian POWs, often using dehumanising language in public discourse and state media. It concludes that Russia’s denial of access to detention facilities for independent monitors and broad amnesty laws for its service members have fostered a climate of impunity for systemic torture and abuse.

The report also found that Russian POWs suffered torture or ill-treatment by Ukrainian forces, particularly during the initial stages of captivity. Approximately 50 percent of Russian POWs interviewed since March 2023 reported severe beatings, death threats, physical violence, and to a lesser extent, electric shocks. However, the report notes that such abuse largely ceased once prisoners reached official detention centres, where conditions generally complied with international standards.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on 31 December 2024 that 11 prisoner exchanges took place in 2024, securing the return of 1,358 people. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a total of 3,956 Ukrainians had been released by Russia. International actors such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been involved in facilitating these prisoner exchanges.

Moscow has denied any violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russian forces have “always” treated Ukrainian POWs in “strict accordance with certain international legal documents and international conventions”.

At tomorrow’s meeting, most Council members are expected to emphasise the need for all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law, especially regarding the treatment of POWs and civilian detainees. The concept note for tomorrow’s meeting states that Russia “grants limited access to POWs and civilian detainees” to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). While the ICRC has visited thousands of POWs on both sides, it does not have full access to all POWs. Members may call for unrestricted humanitarian access to POWs and civilian detainees by independent monitors.

Tomorrow, some members may also demand that Russia ensure proper detention conditions, including adequate medical care, and provide timely, accurate information on detainees’ locations and legal status. Some members may condemn the systematic torture of Ukrainian POWs, as reported by the COI on Ukraine. These members may further urge Russia to immediately release all detained Ukrainian civilians, end incommunicado detention, and stop politically motivated persecution.

Several members may reference the Montréal Pledge, a joint communiqué agreed on 1 November 2024 following a ministerial conference on the human dimension of Ukraine’s Peace Formula, organised by Canada on 30 and 31 October 2024. The communiqué, which has the support of several Council members—including Denmark, France, Greece, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Slovenia, the UK, and the US—outlines concrete steps to facilitate the release of POWs, unlawfully detained civilians, and the return of deported children.

Russia is expected to deny any violations of international humanitarian law by its forces and accuse Ukraine of obstructing prisoner exchanges. At a 2 November 2024 press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected claims that international observers and medical personnel have been denied access to POWs and civilian detainees in Russia. She accused Ukraine of sabotaging the prisoner exchange process by insisting on the inclusion of “nationalist battalion members”, whom Russia labels as “extremist, terrorist, and nationalist”.

Russia plans to organise its own Arria-formula meeting later this month, focusing on alleged atrocities by Ukrainian forces in Selydove. Additionally, the Security Council will hold a briefing on Ukraine on 16 January.

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