The Independent International Commission of Inquiry in Ukraine is a United Nations commission of inquiry established by the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

on 4 March 2022 with a mandate to investigate violations of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and of

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The Commission delivered its reports on 18 October 2022 and 16 March 2023.

Creation

On 3 March 2022, the

(UNHRC) started debating the effect of the

on human rights. 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 Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and Russia) against. 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".

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

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.

Structure

The commission of inquiry was initially set up to include three human rights experts for one year, headed by Erik Møse from Norway, and also including Jasminka Džumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pablo de Greiff from Colombia.

Aims

The goal of the commission was to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of

and

in the

. The commission was required to make recommendations based on its investigation, first in September 2022 to the 51st and 52nd sessions of the UNHRC and the 77th session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

Reports

October 2022 report

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 Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, and Sumy. The Commission found that Russian armed forces were responsible for the great majority of human rights and

violations, but that Ukrainian forces also violated international humanitarian law, notably in two incidents that qualified as

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

March 2023 report

In a March 2023 report, the Commission found that Russia had committed numerous violations of

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

and

in Ukraine, and that many of these breaches constituted war crimes.War crimes, indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure, systematic and widespread torture show disregard for civilians, says UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
(March 16, 2023)https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiukraine/A_HRC_52_62_AUV_EN.pdf Evidence gathered by the Commission included: *site visits to 56 locations in Ukraine; *interviews with 595 people, including refugees in Estonia and Georgia; *site visits to places destroyed in the war, grave sites; and sites where Russians detained and tortured prisoners; and *documentary and physical evidence, including written records, photographs and videos,

satellite image Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell i ...

s and weapon fragments. The Ukrainian government responded to inquiries from the commission; the Russian authorities refused to cooperate. The report concluded: "that Russian authorities have committed numerous violations of international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes," These included that of excessive incidental death, injury or damage, wilful killings, torture, inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

, and unlawful transfers and deportations. The commission also found that torture by Russians and the waves of Russian airstrikes starting 10 October 2022 on Ukraine's energy infrastructure might amount to crimes against humanity.

September 2023 update

On 25 September 2023, Commission Chair Erik Møse delivered an update at the 54th session of the

UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...

, saying "The Commission is also concerned about allegations of genocide in Ukraine. For instance, some of the rhetoric transmitted in Russian state and other media may constitute incitement to genocide. The Commission is continuing its investigations on such issues."

References

External links

Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, War crimes Human rights in Ukraine War crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Ukraine and the United Nations Russia and the United Nations 2022 in the United Nations United Nations and the Russo-Ukrainian War