Kategorie: Humans

Reacting to reported Russian mass strikes on Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“This is yet another day of petrifying news from Ukraine, with Russia launching multiple strikes that hit residential areas, city centres and civilian infrastructure. The crater left by a Russian missile in the middle of children’s playground in central Kyiv is a stark symbol of the complete disregard for human life that has characterized Russia’s invasion.”

“The ultimate goal of today’s attacks is to spread terror among the entire civilian population.

The ultimate goal of today’s attacks is to spread terror among the entire civilian population

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“Russia must immediately stop its war of aggression. All those responsible for the aggression and war crimes, including commanders and civilian leaders, such as ministers, and heads of state should be held criminally responsible for their actions.”

Background

In the early hours and morning of 10 October, Russian forces carried out massive missile strikes on Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities, including Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya, and Zhytomyr, among others. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, around 40 rockets fired by Russian forces hit targets in Ukraine.

Critical infrastructure facilities like power plants and power substations in eight regions of Ukraine and in Kyiv seem to be the main targets of the attacks, which led to mass power shortages across the country and many train delays. According to Ukraine’s national police, out of 117 buildings damaged throughout the country 29 were critical infrastructure facilities, four were multi-storey buildings and 35 private residential houses.

While Kyiv was one of the first targets at the start of the of the full-scale invasion by Russia, this is the first time its historic centre has been hit. Four Kyiv city districts came under attacks that damaged, among others, one of the buildings of the Kyiv National Shevchenko University, a pedestrian bridge and a playground in Shevchenko Park.

While Kyiv was one of the first targets at the start of the of the full-scale invasion by Russia, this is the first time its historic centre has been hit

According to the State Service of Emergency Situations, today’s attacks killed 11 people (five in Kyiv) and injured 89 across the country.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin welcomed the attacks, claiming them to be targeting “energy facilities, military administration and communications of Ukraine.”

Accountability for war crimes 

Since the beginning of the conflict, Amnesty International has been documenting Russian war crimes and other violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. All of Amnesty International’s outputs published to date – including news updates, reports, briefings and investigations – can be found here.  

Amnesty International has called repeatedly for members of Russian forces and officials responsible for the aggression and violations to be held to account, and has welcomed the ongoing International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine. Comprehensive accountability in Ukraine will require the concerted efforts of the UN and its organs, as well as initiatives at the national level pursuant to the principle of universal jurisdiction. 

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Responding to the news that human rights organisations from Ukraine and Russia, as well as rights advocate Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, have been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights defenders and organizations from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine highlights the vital role they play in defending human rights in their countries and the wider region.”

“The Nobel Committee is sending an important message to the world – that it must support human rights defenders that have shown an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power in their countries. This message is sent at a critical moment when ongoing Russian aggression has led to a human rights crisis of incredible proportions in Ukraine, and of the crackdown on any form of dissent in Russia and Belarus.

“This is also a message of solidarity. Since July 2021 Ales Bialiatski, a pioneer of human rights in Belarus since the mid-1980’s, has been behind bars for his peaceful work documenting, among other things, the crackdown on dissent following the disputed 2020 presidential elections. Memorial, one of the oldest Russian human rights organisations, was shut down by the Russian authorities at the end of 2021, and the Center for Civil Liberties has been documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine since 2014 and continues its work in Ukraine despite the ongoing Russian war of aggression.

“Amnesty International stands in solidarity with Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties. All three are an inspiration and an example of courage and dedication for all those who carry out human rights work in Eastern Europe.”

Amnesty International stands in solidarity with Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties. All three are an inspiration and an example of courage and dedication for all those who carry out human rights work in Eastern Europe

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

Background 

Ales Bialiatski, the chairman and founder of the Human Rights Centre Viasna in 1996, is held in a pre-trial detention centre since July 2021. Along with his fellow colleagues, Viasna vice-chair Valyantsin Stefanovich and the organization’s lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich, he’s falsely charged with “smuggling of large sums of money and financing group activities that grossly violated public order” as retaliation for his lawful human rights work.

Between 2011 and 2014, Ales Bialiatski served a sentence on trumped up charges of tax evasion. Then, as now, Amnesty International recognises him as a prisoner of conscience.

Memorial is one of the oldest and most respected human rights groups in Russia that started operating in 1988. The Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov was the first chair of Memorial until his death in 1989. Memorial was liquidated by a court order in December 2021 on grounds of violation of the now infamous “foreign agents” law. The Russian authorities labelled Memorial a ‘foreign agent’ in 2013. Currently, Memorial continues operating without official registration.

The Center for Civil Liberties, founded in Ukraine in 2007, is currently playing a critical role in efforts to identify and document war crimes committed in Ukrainian territory under effective Russian control since 2014 and occupied during the 2022 invasion.

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In response to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNRC) decision to extend the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) to continue to monitor and document crimes under international law and human rights violations in the country, Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa, said:

The adoption of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution underscores the critical need to continue documenting crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses

Muleya Mwananyanda, Director for East and Southern Africa

“The adoption of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution to extend the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia underscores the critical need to continue to document crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses, and preserve the evidence of crimes that are currently being committed in the country.

“This decision gives hope to the victims of the ongoing human rights violations in Ethiopia that someone is standing with them and that all those suspected of criminal responsibility are being watched to ensure justice, truth and reparation for victims.

The Ethiopian government must give full access to the Commission and fully support its work

Muleya Mwananyanda

“The Ethiopian government must give full access to the Commission and fully support its work. The United Nations General Assembly must support the mandate given to the ICHREE, including with the resources and staffing it needs. Additionally, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission should fully support and cooperate by facilitating access to information and evidence held in their custody.”

Background

For decades, Amnesty International has documented gross human rights violations and abuses that amount to crimes under international law in Ethiopia. In the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia, Amnesty International has documented crimes committed by all parties to the conflict, including war crimes.

Gaps in Ethiopian criminal laws impede justice, truth and reparation for gross human rights violations, both past and present. Impunity is exacerbated by the fact that the government is not able to exercise jurisdiction over some of the forces, including the Eritrean Defence Forces and the Tigrayan forces, suspected of responsibility for violations and abuses in northern Ethiopia.

Amnesty International recalls that all states are permitted to exercise jurisdiction over crimes under international law, regardless of where the crimes were committed, or the nationality of the suspect or the victims.

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During its 51^st session, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution renewing the mandate of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, created by the same body in September 2019, for two more years. In response, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, stated:

“Amnesty International welcomes the renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela as a sign of support for the countless victims of grave human rights violations that have been, and continue to be, committed in the country. UN Human Rights Council member states who voted in favour of the renewal listened to Venezuelan and international civil society organizations who have spent months calling for the renewal of the mandate of this investigative mechanism. We regret that several states in the Americas, including Argentina, Honduras and Mexico, turned their backs on this call and on the human rights of victims.”

Amnesty International welcomes the renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela as a sign of support and backing for the countless victims of grave human rights violations that have been, and continue to be, committed in the country.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“The Mission’s conclusive research and public reports are essential tools in victims’ and organizations’ struggle for the right to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition. So far, they concluded that there are sufficient grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela; that the judicial system functions as a tool for repression; and that there is a policy of repression orchestrated by the highest authorities and intelligence services against those who are, or may be perceived as, opponents of Nicolás Maduro’s government. Individual authorities – possible perpetrators – have also been identified and must be investigated by competent and impartial courts, including those outside Venezuela exercising universal jurisdiction.”

“Such resounding findings are invaluable for victims and civil society in Venezuela and could also contribute to the ongoing investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as serving as a deterrent against future crimes and human rights violations.”

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Responding to the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) decision to establish an independent monitoring mechanism on the human rights situation in Russia, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“Amnesty International welcomes the decision by the Human Rights Council to finally bring Russia’s human rights record under scrutiny. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, the country has seen its political opposition crushed, grassroots NGOs and activists outlawed, independent media shuttered, and civil society as a whole scorched to the ground. Russia’s unlawful aggression in Ukraine could not be a clearer demonstration of Vladimir Putin’s longstanding disregard for life and human rights.”

Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, the country has seen its political opposition crushed, grassroots NGOs and activists outlawed, independent media shuttered, and civil society as a whole scorched to the ground

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“The establishment of this important mechanism will be a long overdue lifeline to civil society in Russia, independent media and many others standing up to repression. We call on all states to support the swift establishment of this monitoring and reporting mandate, and to fully support victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by the national authorities. We call on the Russian authorities to heed the clear message that the Human Rights Council sends with the establishment of this mechanism, and to fundamentally change course to cease its violations at home and abroad.

“The successful vote today does not draw the sting from yesterday’s failure of the Human Rights Council to schedule a debate on the situation in Xinjiang China, but it does show that the Council has the capability to address grave situations based on their merits. We will continue to hold the Human Rights Council and its member states to this standard.”

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