International Orgs disregard Ukrainian violation of IHL: Morozova
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DPR Ombudswoman Daria Morozova says that international organizations have turned a blind eye to Ukrainian forces torturing prisoners of war of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
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Russian fighters held in the captivity of Ukrainian forces near the city of Lugansk, Russia, 24 February 2022. (AFP)
International institutions have not yet taken appropriate measures against Ukraine for its violation of international humanitarian law, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Ombudswoman Daria Morozova said on Saturday.
According to the Ombudswoman, Ukrainian forces have tortured captive soldiers of the DPR, violating the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) which protects all humans from torture, and cruel or inhumane treatment.
Torture and deliberate killing of prisoners of war is considered a war crime under international law cases.
The DPR official said, “Since the start of the special military operation, we have sent over 320 letters to the UN, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with information on the cases of the Kiev regime's war crimes that we documented. These include war crimes against prisoners of war.”
Morozova says that the international organizations have consistently disregarded her committee’s efforts, maintaining that they “have taken note of it” without taking the proper legal measures to fight it.
She added that interviews with DPR servicemen who have been freed from Ukrainian prisons, alongside forensic data, show that almost all prisoners of war taken by Ukraine have been subject to inhumane treatment and torture.
The International Criminal Court gladly mobilized against Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. Even though Russian individuals do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Court, judges of the court issued an arrest warrant to President Putin citing the "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."
Russia, which signed the Rome statute in 2000 has not ratified the statute in its own domestic institutions, which makes the Russian president immune to decisions of the court.
This prompted Russian courts to initiate a criminal case against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan, judges of the International Criminal Court Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez.
Ukraine has also not ratified the statute, nonetheless, a double standard exists in International courts where Russian individuals are trialed, while according to Morozova “No proper response measures against Ukraine ever followed.”
