Amnesty International calls for a plan to bring justice to victims of war crimes in Ukraine

MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Amnesty International (AI) has called on the international community to draw up a joint plan to address demands for justice from victims of the conflict in Ukraine, where the organization has documented war crimes since the invasion began a year ago.

AI Secretary General Agnès Callamard stressed in a statement the need for action to be taken quickly: "While the Russian Armed Forces appear to be intensifying their offensive in Ukraine, the commitment to hold accountable all those responsible for violations of Human Rights and war crimes is more urgent than ever".

"Let's say it clearly: the hands of Vladimir Putin and his armed forces are stained with blood," added the Secretary General.

AI has identified war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law committed by Russia, including extrajudicial executions, deadly attacks on civilian infrastructure and places of refuge, deportations and forcible transfers of civilians, and large-scale unlawful killings committed through bombardment of cities

The priority must be to resolve the demands for justice of the people of Ukraine, which Callamard has assured "has suffered unimaginable horrors in this war of aggression during the last 12 months." "Innumerable human beings have been reduced to collateral damage," he lamented.

This justice and reparation for the victims, Callamard explained, involves considering the creation of new mechanisms, both national and international, to reinforce the justice response to crimes of this nature throughout the world. He would also consider upholding the crime of aggression, which the International Criminal Court is currently unable to investigate as such.

Among the concrete actions that AI has proposed, guarantee that those responsible for these war crimes are brought to justice, including both senior military commanders and civilian leaders.

Humanitarian support will also be essential in this search for reparations, and AI has recalled the need to guarantee transparency, efficiency and sensitivity towards the victims in these processes.

Amnesty International positively values ​​the decision of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022 to create an independent commission of inquiry on Ukraine, but has stressed that it is essential that these processes take into account, in addition to the "direct perpetrators low-level" means people higher up the chain of command.