In a Decision adopted on the basis of a report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Committee of Ministers expressed its “deep concern over the deterioration of the human rights situation in the territories of Ukraine temporarily controlled or occupied by the Russian Federation, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol”.
These include systematic use of torture and degrading treatment, arbitrary and extrajudicial executions, disappearances, sexual violence, deportations to Russia and Belarus, forced conscription and discrimination, particularly against ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.
Murders, injuries and sexual abuse of children have also been documented, causing serious concern to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is once again calling for the return of deported Ukrainian children.
It stresses the need for “prompt, independent and impartial” national and international investigations into these serious human rights violations, and notes the firm commitment made by the Heads of State and Government of the Member States at the 4th Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik in May 2023.
The Register of Damage set up within this framework is the first element of a future compensation mechanism for victims, he stresses.
Link to the Decision: https://aeur.eu/f/8wb , link to the SG report: https://aeur.eu/f/8wc (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)