The UN Security Council discusses forced transfers of Ukrainian civilians to Russia.
Italy: we ask that Russia guarantee access to the UN and Red Cross to the filtration camps and the immediate return of the forcibly transferred Ukrainian citizens. Italy spoke at the UN Security Council Briefing on the forced transfer of Ukrainians to Russia and on “filtering” systems. “The system of filtering Ukrainian civilians implemented by Russia is a violation of jus in bello as profound as has not been seen in Europe since the Second World War,” began the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Amb. Maurizio Massari.
In addition to this already serious violation of international humanitarian law, which could be prosecuted as a war crime and crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court, credible sources have reported potential cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, illegal collection of biometric data, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.
“The gravity of the situation requires two rapid and crucial actions – continued Massari – firstly we ask Russia to guarantee free access to UN bodies and NGOs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross-ICRC, to visit the temporary centers where Ukrainian civilians are located with direct and complete access to the latter, in line with the Geneva conventions.”
“Secondly, we call on Russia to ensure the immediate return of forcibly relocated Ukrainian citizens, especially women and children, to their territories of origin or their freedom of movement to third countries. The effective evacuation mechanism established in Mariupol, under UN-ICRC coordination, could be an example to be replicated.
In its statement, Italy finally reaffirmed its support for independent international and national mechanisms to investigate and to prevent the impunity of the perpetrators of these serious violations.
