Ukraine pulling from CIS deal on protection of victims of armed conflicts

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a draft law on the nation’s withdrawal from the Agreement on Priority Measures for the Protection of Victims of Armed Conflicts, signed by the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, due to Russia's ongoing violations of the norms of international humanitarian law.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Ukrinform saw on social media.

"The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft law on Ukraine's withdrawal from the agreement signed with the Russian Federation due to its violation of the norms of international humanitarian law (IHL). This is an agreement on priority measures for the protection of victims of armed conflicts. It was signed by the CIS countries in 1993, including by Ukraine and the Russian Federation," the ministry wrote.

According to the draft, the participating states had agreed to cooperate in the field of preventing violations of human rights and IHL norms in the areas of armed conflicts on the territory of the former USSR.

The Ministry for Reintegration emphasizes that Russia grossly violates IHL norms on the territory of Ukraine, including by deliberately targeting civil infrastructure and killing civilians.

"The Ministry for Reintegration has developed a draft law on Ukraine's withdrawal from the aforementioned agreement. Since one of the ministry's tasks is to form and implement the government policy on compliance with IHL norms in Ukraine. Now the draft law will be tabled in the Verkhovna Rada," the ministry said.

As reported earlier, the government decided on Ukraine's withdrawal from the agreement on the cooperation of the ministries of internal affairs of the CIS member countries in the field of fighting crime.