Human Rights Watch welcomes the continued work of the Commission of Inquiry and its vital role in documenting grave violations committed during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russian forces continue to commit crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes and other international humanitarian law violations, which cause immense suffering among Ukrainian civilians.
HRW recently documented how Russian authorities systematically torture Ukrainian POWS in an effort to break their dignity and sense of self. Russian authorities are also holding thousands of unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians—including journalists and activists—subjecting many to torture and other ill-treatment.
Russian authorities commit severe, often underreported, violations in occupied areas of Ukraine. They ban children from studying the Ukrainian curriculum and threaten parents with loss of custody if they refuse to enroll their children in Russian-run schools. They suppress Ukrainian culture, seize property, and retaliate against critics. In violation of the laws of occupation, Russian authorities coerce residents, through intimidation and systematic denial of social benefits and essential services, into taking Russian passports, and conscript Ukrainians into its armed forces.
With pressure mounting for negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Ukraine’s allies should redouble efforts to secure the release and repatriation of unlawfully detained civilians, including children, as well as the timely return of POWs. They should rule out any amnesty for atrocity crimes in negotiations and commit to credible justice. Finally, accountability efforts should encompass the full range of violations taking place in Russia-occupied territories every day.
