Difference between revisions of "Essay: Accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine"

The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are “evocative of genocide”, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week.

The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine “expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state”.^[1]

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November. He said some 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported an array of abuses, including the use of electric shocks, waterboarding, being forced to strip naked, and threats of mutilation and death.

Kostin said more than 60 cases of rape were documented in the Kherson region alone. In areas still controlled by Russian forces, residents, including children, are being forcefully relocated to other occupied territories or to Russia.^[2]

As a signatory to the court, South Africa should detain suspects in its territory, but President Ramaphosa warned Russia would see this as a declaration of war.

It often holds trials on behalf of countries with weak judicial systems, which are unable to prosecute such cases in their own courts.

What is a war crime, and what is the ICC?

The rules for war are spelt out in the Geneva Conventions, and other international laws and agreements.

Serious offences such as murder, rape or mass persecution of a group are known as "crimes against humanity" or, in some circumstances, "genocide".

Military forces cannot deliberately attack civilians - nor the infrastructure that they depend on, such as power stations.

Some weapons are banned, such as anti-personnel landmines, and chemical or biological weapons.

The sick and wounded must be cared for - including injured soldiers, who have rights as prisoners of war.

The ICC, based in The Hague, was set up to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says Russian authorities took 16,221 children out of Ukraine to Russia.

It said these deportations "violate international humanitarian law and amount to a war crime".

The UN has also said that Russian forces in Ukraine are responsible for rapes, "widespread" torture and killings...^[3]