A new report published by
International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) documents evidence of
international crimes and violations of fundamental rights taking place on the
territory of the Crimean Peninsula from the onset of the Russian occupation in
February 2014. The report, International Crimes in Crimea: An Assessment of Two and a
Half Years of Russian Occupation presents and analyses
evidence collected by IPHR and other international and non-governmental
organisations using the framework of the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court (ICC Statute).
The report concludes that there is a reasonable
basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity, as defined by the
ICC Statute, have been committed in Crimea.
In late February 2014, armed
forces of the Russian Federation supported by proxy paramilitary groups invaded
Crimea – sovereign territory of Ukraine – in violation of the prohibition on
the use of force enshrined in the UN Charter.
The invading forces quickly
established control and authority over the Crimean Peninsula, expelling
Ukraine’s civilian and military authorities. On 16 March 2014, the occupying
authorities held what is widely considered to have been an illegal and
non-binding referendum on the independence of Crimea and Sevastopol from
Ukraine. On 18 March 2014, self-proclaimed representatives of Crimea and
Sevastopol signed an agreement with the president of the Russian Federation for
the integration of the peninsula into the territory of this country. Most of
the international community have refused to recognise the legality of the
referendum and subsequent annexation. The territory of the Crimean Peninsula
remains under Russian occupation.
The new report, which was
prepared by IPHR together with SOS Crimea and the Truth Hounds in the framework
of the Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP) and presented at a side event held at
the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw today,
documents evidence of a series of human rights violations perpetrated in Crime
since the onset of the Russian occupation.
These include: seven murders, 15
enforced disappearances, 90 cases of illegal detention, 36 cases of torture
and/or other forms of inhuman and/or degrading treatment, widespread
appropriation of public and private property, and the forcible displacement of
up to 60,000 civilians. The primary targets of these human rights violations
are Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians identified by the occupying authorities as
opponents or critics of the occupation. The cumulative effect of these crimes
and other severe deprivations of fundamental rights may be characterised as
persecution perpetrated against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians on ethnic,
political and/or religious grounds.
In September 2015, the Ukrainian
government submitted a Declaration to the ICC, accepting the jurisdiction of
the Court for the purpose of identifying, prosecuting and judging the
perpetrators and accomplices of acts committed in the territory of Ukraine
since February 2014. On the basis of this Declaration, the ICC has jurisdiction
to investigate and prosecute crimes set out in its Statute that have taken
place on the Crimean Peninsula during the period of Russian occupation. On the
basis of its analysis of the documented evidence using the framework of the ICC
Statute, IPHR finds that the human rights violations set out in the report took
place in the context of and was associated with the occupation, and/or took
place as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the targeted civilian
population.
Consequently, we submit that there is a reasonable basis to
conclude that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed.
According to our analysis, the individuals that bear the greatest
responsibility for the violations presented in the report are the leading
figures of the occupying authorities and proxy paramilitary groups. Moreover,
we submit that any potential cases emanating from the evidence set forth by
IPHR will satisfy the three admissibility criteria inscribed in the ICC Statute
– complementarity, gravity and the interests of justice.
Pursuant to the common
aspirations of peace, security and justice, it is imperative to conduct full
and thorough investigations into these events and bring those responsible for
committing international crimes to an independent and impartial trial
guaranteeing the full respect for fundamental fair trial rights. To this end,
IPHR will file an Article 15 Communication, together with all evidence
supporting the findings in this report, to the ICC Prosecutor.
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