‘Save Ukrainian POWs’ action to take place in Geneva during Red Cross conference

27.10.2024 18:20

Ukrinform

The public organization Warriors Liberation and other associations of families of military prisoners and missing defenders of Ukraine will hold an action in Geneva, Switzerland, and will publicly address the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The event ‘Save Ukrainian Prisoners of War. Find Ukrainian Missing Persons’ will take place at the Palace of Nations (Place des Nations) on October 29 at 17:30, as reported by Ukrinform, citing a post on Telegram from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

It is noted that on October 28-31, the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent will take place in Geneva, which occurs once every four years. "At such a gathering, delegates of the global Red Cross movement should discuss both their successes and the problems that hinder the effective operation of the organization," the statement said.

The Coordination Headquarters pointed out that the organizing committee of the conference refused to bring up the urgent issue of the lack of access for the ICRC to illegal prisons in Russia, where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians are held.

The organizers of the action have repeatedly approached the ICRC's central office with a proposal to discuss this problem. "The situation of the lack of access to places of detention not only contradicts the Geneva Conventions and violates people's rights but also poses a danger to the lives of the captives," the post states.

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This situation creates conditions for total impunity for Russia, the Coordination Headquarters believes. It leads to systematic torture, abuse, and killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war, both military and civilian, as well as the concealment of their whereabouts or their bodies.

"Unfortunately, all these appeals have been ignored. Therefore, overcoming 2,500 kilometers, the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing defenders of Ukraine intend to directly appeal to the participants of the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva to draw their attention to the catastrophic state of Ukrainians in Russian captivity," the headquarters emphasized and invited all concerned individuals to stand alongside them in the fight for life.

As reported by Ukrinform, the European Union urges Russia to adhere to international humanitarian law and to stop the executions and torture of Ukrainian captives. Russia is being demanded to provide immediate access for humanitarian organizations to the imprisoned.