On Tuesday, December 19th, a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council took place in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by Inna Liniova, an International Operations Advisor to the Ukrainian Bar Association.

During the meeting, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights delivered an oral report on the human rights situation in Ukraine.

In addition to and in continuation of the High Commissioner's report, the UBA and the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) issued a joint statement, in which they:

• condemned escalating violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the course of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, also confirmed by the latest oral updates of the COI on Ukraine;
• condemned the “widespread and systematic” murder, torture, incommunicado detention, enforced disappearances and sexual violence in territories occupied by Russian armed forces, as also indicated in the COI’s finding;
• expressed concern about the signs of genocide and ecocide in Ukraine;
• stressed the serious concern about the status and treatment of all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported to the temporarily occupied territories and Russia, and called on the Russian Federation to immediately cease those practices and collaborate with Ukraine and international actors to ensure the children’s safe return to Ukraine;
• called on UN institutions and Member States through international cooperation to enhance accountability by means of universal jurisdiction, as well as provide robust support to the Ukraine’s justice system and assist in effective investigation and prosecution of international crimes, in accordance with fair trial guarantees.

The full text of the statement is available at this link.