UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine calls to report rights violations since Russian invasion

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine invites individuals, groups and organizations to submit information and documentation as regards Russian crimes involving sexual violence and strikes targeting critical infrastructure.

The Commission welcomes submissions directly from survivors, their relatives and witnesses, Ukrinform reports.

Reports should be related to torture and sexual and gender-based violence against all persons, regardless of age and gender. In this context, the Commission is interested to further understand how detention facilities, where torture was recurrent, were organized and which forces and/or services committed torture or gave orders to this effect.

The Commission also seeks to learn about the impact on civilians, both immediate and long-term, of the attacks on energy infrastructure, in particular concerning health and education.

In order to preserve the security and confidentiality of the information submitted, it is recommended to submit through the specific email address created by the Commission for this purpose: ohchr-submission-coiukraine@un.org

For any questions, including on how to submit information in a different way, the Commission is available at coi-ukraine@un.org

Submissions can be sent by 1 August 2024, the Commission says, adding it attaches the utmost importance to the protection of sources, notably concerning the respect for confidentiality and the ‘do no harm’ principle in order not to jeopardize the life, safety, freedom and well-being of victims, witnesses and other cooperating persons. It will only disclose the identity of cooperating persons if there is an informed consent from them and will use the information provided in accordance with their stated wishes.

As reported earlier, the Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022 and is mandated to investigate violations and abuses of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Its members are Erik Møse (chair), Pablo de Greiff, and Vrinda Grover.