Forced disappearances in Ukraine by Russian authorities are crimes against humanity – Independent UN Commission
As part of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities have committed crimes against humanity in the form of enforced disappearances that are widespread and systematic, the latest report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine states.
The Commission said the Russian authorities have detained a large number of civilians throughout the territories of Ukraine it has seized. The victims of the disappearances have been representatives of local authorities, civil servants, journalists and other individuals whom the Russian authorities perceived as a threat to their military objectives in Ukraine. Many prisoners of war have also been victims of enforced disappearances.
The Commission said the Russian authorities often transferred victims to places of detention in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine or deported them to Russia, where they again became victims of additional serious violations and crimes, including torture and sexual violence. According to the report, many victims disappeared for months or years, some of them died. The fate and whereabouts of the captives remain unknown, leaving their families in a painful state of uncertainty.
As the Commission said, in response to appeals from the families of the missing, the Russian authorities at various levels provided standard responses that systematically failed to provide information about the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared. The refusal to provide information to the families of the victims also demonstrates the intention of the Russian authorities to deprive the victims themselves of legal protection.
Based on the evidence collected, the Commission concluded that the acts of enforced disappearances against civilians were carried out in accordance with a coordinated state policy and constitute crimes against humanity.
The Commission has previously stated the Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity in the form of torture. Recent investigations have also confirmed that the Federal Security Service officers who were present in places of detention had the highest authority. They tortured or ordered torture to be used at various stages of the detention of prisoners, and in particular during interrogations, when one of the most brutal forms of treatment of prisoners was used.
The Commission has previously described the systematic use of sexual violence as a form of torture by the Russian authorities in places of detention, mainly against men. With regard to female prisoners, the Commission has now documented new cases of rape and sexual abuse that qualify as torture. The Russian authorities used sexual violence and rape against female prisoners, and held them in inhumane conditions, reflecting the gendered nature and consequences of such treatment of female prisoners.
The Commission has recorded an increase in incidents involving the killing or wounding of Ukrainian soldiers who were captured or attempted to surrender by Russian forces. These actions constitute war crimes. Investigators have been able to interview fighters who have deserted from the Russian forces. Some of them told the Commission that they were ordered not to take prisoners but to destroy them, indicating a coordinated policy.
The report also describes several cases of human rights violations committed by the Ukrainian authorities against individuals accused of collaboration with the Russian authorities.
After three years of full-scale invasion, many victims have suffered serious violations and crimes. The Commission stresses the importance of judicial and extrajudicial accountability in all its forms, which contribute to the consolidation of peace processes.