UK statement on oral update of High Commissioner on human rights situation in Ukraine & Secretary-General interim report on human rights situation in Crimea.

Thank you,

Last week marked 500 days since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

500 days not of friendship for the Charter, but its daily flouting.

500 days of atrocities. More than 500 children killed.

Thousands of civilians killed. Millions displaced. Schools, hospitals and homes destroyed. Ukraine’s fertile fields flooded and mined, not producing food for the world. Tens of thousands of civilians detained, countless among them tortured. Children stolen from their families, their Ukrainian identity denied. No wonder that the ICC issued an arrest warrant against President Putin.

Thank you, High Commissioner for the role you and your teams on the ground have played in calling out these systematic violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law. International law matters. The Charter matters. Accountability matters.

High Commissioner,

How can the international community support those thousands of civilians arbitrarily detained by Russia?