Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and several other key figures have pushed countries at a UN meeting to act on mounting evidence for war crimes in Ukraine, which she described as a “slaughterhouse”.
“Ukraine is, today, a slaughterhouse. Right in the heart of Europe,” Ms Clooney told an informal UN Security Council meeting on accountability in Ukraine organised by France and Albania on Wednesday.
The informal council meeting was also attended by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, chair of the UN commission of inquiry and Ukraine’s top prosecutor.
It was held to focus on how Moscow could be held responsible for its actions in Ukraine, as several reports have emerged of soldiers executing civillians, torture, kidnapping children and raping women.
“Here we are, faced with the evidence of crimes of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and mounting evidence each day of the crime of genocide,” she said.
“How did we get here? I believe we got here by ignoring justice for so long. For too long, we have watched as perpetrators of mass human rights abuses have murdered, tortured and raped without consequence,” she added and referred to Yemen and Myanmar as examples.
Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova, who has opened over 8,000 investigations into alleged violations of the laws and customs of war, said “Russia’s actions amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes” and the pattern “resembles the crime of genocide”.
Amid calls for investigation, Sergey Leonidchenko, the legal chief at Russia’s UN Mission, pushed back.
“What we heard today was another portion of unsubstantiated claims and even fakes seasoned with lies, hypocrisy and pompous rhetoric,” he said, accusing Ukraine of being responsible for “heinous crimes” and stating that the country “will be brought to justice.”
He added that Moscow was collecting witness statements and evidence across Ukraine, including in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Russia also planned to hold an informal UNSC meeting on 6 May to present what he claimed will be “facts not fakes.”
Other council members at the meeting — Mexico, Gabon, Ghana, Brazil, India, Kenya and the UAE — did not assign blame to any country but said investigations were needed to establish the facts behind the killings and attacks.
China, a close ally of Russia, said: “Any accusations should be based on facts before the full picture is clear.”
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who opened an investigation into Russia a week after its Ukraine invasion, said a record 43 countries referred the Ukraine situation to the court, which is responsible for prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“This is a time when we need to mobilise the law and send it into battle, not on the side of Ukraine against the Russian Federation or on the side of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, but on the side of humanity to protect, to preserve, to shield people who have certain basic rights,” Mr Khan said.
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