In a vote on Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council approved the opening of investigations into possible war crimes on the outskirts of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
The resolution condemning Russia’s aggression received Brazil’s vote. But Jair Bolsonaro’s government was unable to persuade other countries to change the decision, which, in the view of many delegations, would undermine the original proposal to put pressure on Russia. Itamaraty also criticized the document’s terms, particularly in relation to food insecurity issues.
The text was passed with 33 votes in favour, 12 abstentions and two votes against.
The UN had already set up a commission of inquiry. Now the mechanism will have the mandate to specifically investigate suspected war crimes in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy. The purpose of the mission will be to bring those responsible to justice.
“This region, which was under Russian occupation in late February and March in late February and March, has seen the worst human rights violations in decades on the European continent,” said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Emine Dzhaparova.
But in an unprecedented gesture, China has taken on the role of defending Russia, a country that has been removed from the UN Human Rights Council. Xi Jinping’s government criticized the decision, insisting it was “neither balanced nor objective”. Beijing demanded the floor and asked that the text be put to a vote.
The priority for China should be to prevent the conflict from escalating to the “point of no return”. Beijing has insisted that the international community support peace talks and “stop lighting the fire”.
Eritrea voted against, while Venezuela and Cuba abstained.
More than a thousand bodies were found on the outskirts of Kiev
Before the vote, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet argued that most of the crimes committed in Ukraine were the responsibility of the Russians and that more than 1,000 bodies were found around Kyiv alone. The version contradicts Moscow’s narrative and rejects the Kremlin’s version that does not attack civilian targets, and spreads the news on social media and the press about the alleged Ukrainian involvement in the deaths of local residents.
According to Bachelet, the actual death toll is probably much higher than has been known to date. “In areas of intense hostility – especially Mariupol – it has been difficult for my people to access, retrieve and verify information,” he said.
According to him, most of the deaths are due to large-area-effect explosive weapons, heavy artillery shelling, including multiple launch rocket systems, and air and missile strikes in populated areas.
“To our knowledge, while such incidents can be attributed to both sides of the conflict, most of these casualties appear to be attributed to the Russian armed forces and associated armed groups,” he said.
The Russian government, which has been removed from its seat in the Council, may attend the meeting as an observer or a participant in the discussion. But Moscow chose not to be in the room.
Later on Thursday, the Council will vote on a resolution calling for an investigation into certain areas controlled by Russian troops.
Bids from Brazil were not taken into account.
Unlike the votes in other international bodies, Brazil chose to support the resolution. But that’s after Itamaraty tried to dump parts of the document that put pressure on Russia. His suggestions were ignored in many parts of the text.
For example, the Brazilian government did not want the text to refer to Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine. But I held my breath.
Brazil failed to persuade other countries to remove from the text a reference to Russia’s alleged role in the food crisis unfolding in Ukraine. Itamaraty “repented” of the decision, insisting that addressing the issue would not be discriminatory and that it would be useless to simply talk about the impact of war without mentioning the sanctions imposed by the West.
The government asked to exclude reference to the fact that some of the world’s food insecurity occurs “in light of the blockade of Ukraine’s seaports and the destruction of associated critical infrastructure, as well as barriers to agricultural exports due to theft.” Ukrainian territory under the control of the Russian armed forces in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions”.
Despite this, the government voted in favour, arguing that the text contained language limited to human rights and respected the principle of the independence of the investigation.
Following the vote, Brazil’s ambassador to the UN, Tovar Nunes, asked the floor from the Council to demand “neutrality” in relations with Ukraine, insisting that this did not mean indifference. He said Brazil hoped the passage of the text would “accelerate the investigation” and allow the Council to continue as a venue for dialogue.
Brazil’s focus is on stopping Russia’s isolation policy that could worsen the crisis.
Before the vote, Tovar had spoken. But he never once mentioned the word “Russia” in front of the Council. While the Argentine delegation called for an “end to the Russian occupation”, Brazil insisted on demanding an “independent” and prompt investigation of allegations of crimes so that responsibilities could be determined.
Brazil asked Vladimir Putin to cooperate with “everyone” in UN investigations, without mentioning the Russian government, and to ensure that the group conducting the investigation was accurate and not biased.
For the Brazilian government, “impartiality and objectivity” must prevail in the work of the Council.
In his speech, Brazil also called for the resumption of negotiations in search of a ceasefire and warned that the measures risked deepening tensions.
The government also requested that areas be protected so that dialogue could take place between the parties “by avoiding measures that could polarize the debate and inflame the conflict”.
preliminary assessment
Even without a full investigation, the UN visited 14 towns and villages in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions controlled by the Russian armed forces until the end of March.
“To date, more than 1,000 civilian bodies have been found in the Kyiv region alone. Some of these people seem to have been killed in combat, while others seem to have been summarily executed,” Bachelet said. said.
“Still, they died from health stress from the fighting and lack of medical care. They remained in basements for weeks, being threatened with harassment or death if they tried to leave by Russian soldiers, putting these individuals at risk of severe hostilities,” he said.
He pointed out that 360 residents, 74 of whom are children and 5 of whom are disabled, in the village of Yahidna in the Chernihiv region, were forced to stay for 28 days in the basement of a school used by the Russians as a base. “The basement was overcrowded. People had to sit for days without having a chance to sleep. There was no toilet, water, ventilation. 10 old people died,” he complained.
“The scale of unlawful killings, including charges of extrajudicial killings, in areas north of Kiev is shocking,” he said.
“While we know about 300 of these murders, the numbers will continue to rise as new evidence emerges. These murders, in which civilians were killed, turned out to be deliberate, often by snipers and soldiers,” he said.
He said civilians were killed while crossing the street or leaving their shelters to get food and water. Others were killed while fleeing in their vehicles. “The unarmed men were killed because Russian soldiers suspected they were supporting Ukrainian forces or were a potential threat, and some were tortured before being killed,” Bachelet said.
“In the village of Katiuzhanka in the Kyiv region, a young couple, their 14-year-old daughter and a grandfather were shot dead by Russian soldiers while trying to drive to their house. His parents died, the child was wounded by two bullets, “he said.
horror in Mariupol
The UN representative also stressed that the city of Mariupol and its inhabitants have been subjected to “unimaginable horrors since the beginning of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation”.
“I was shocked by the destruction and numerous violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in the city, including attacks on civilians and civilian objects. A once thriving city lies in ruins,” he complained. .
“We estimate civilian deaths in Mariupol to be in the thousands, but over time the true scale of the brutality, casualties and damage will become clear,” he said.
Bachelet also highlighted allegations of sexual violence and confirmed dozens of cases across the country. “I am concerned about allegations of sexual violence emerging in areas of the Kyiv region that were previously under the control of the Russian armed forces,” he said.
source: Noticias
