UN has accurate information on torture of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia - Head of Monitoring Mission

The UN Human Rights Council is reporting to the countries on the reports of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), which document torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia.

This was reported by the Head of the HRMMU, Danielle Belle, in a comment to Ukrinform.

"The Human Rights Council and the Security Council regularly hold briefings on Ukraine, as well as in the UN human rights treaty bodies. Our reports are used in many places because our mandate is to monitor and report," she said.

The Head of the Mission explained that these reports are based on descriptions and extensive interviews with prisoners of war, documenting forms of torture, ill-treatment and conditions of captivity.

Belle stressed that they provide member states of the UN Human Rights Council with accurate information and are also used by the Council of Europe's Register of Damages, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court.

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"International and national bodies use our reports to launch their own investigations. The Commission on Investigation of Violations uses our work. At the same time, there are other mechanisms that use our findings. For example, a recent decision of the International Court of Justice was based on our reports. The European Court of Human Rights uses our reports in its decisions," said the HRMMU Chairperson.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said that about 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war had been tortured, raped, threatened with sexual violence or other forms of ill-treatment.

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