The NGO Amnesty International (AI) warned Thursday that the forcible transfer of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops constitutes war crimes.
«Russian authorities have subjected civilians to forcible transfer and deportation from occupied areas of Ukraine, constituting war crimes and, probably, crimes against humanity,» the organization denounced in a new report.
The report details the forcible transfer of civilians from the territories of occupied Ukraine to areas under Russian control by Russian armed forces, separating children from their families, torture and arbitrary detention.
«Separating children from their families and forcing people to move hundreds of kilometers from their homes is further evidence of the severe suffering that the Russian invasion is causing Ukrainian civilians,» said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Investigations also show the forcible transfer of nearly a hundred people residing in a state institution for elderly and disabled people in Mariupol.
«Russian forces indiscriminately target and illegitimately kill civilians, destroying countless lives and tearing families apart. No one has been spared, not even children,» the organization laments.
These measures are in violation of international humanitarian law, recalls AI, which has called for such actions to be investigated as crimes against humanity. The NGO has repeatedly called for the authorities responsible for human rights violations to be held accountable.
«The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other relevant authorities must investigate these horrendous crimes, including those committed against members of groups at risk,» Callamard said.
«All those responsible for deportation and forcible transfer, as well as torture and other crimes under international law committed during the ‘filtrados’ must be brought to justice,» added the NGO secretary general.
For this research, Amnesty has documented specific cases, after interviewing more than 80 people, both from Mariupol and from Kharkov, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporiyia. Almost all of those interviewed were located, at the time of the consultation, in Ukrainian-controlled areas or in a third European country.
Most of the victims described coercive conditions in which they had no real choice but to go to Russia or other areas occupied by its troops, AI explains.
In addition, several people stated that they had felt pressured to apply for Russian citizenship, a process that has been simplified for minors presumed to be orphans or separated from their parents, as well as for people with disabilities.
These bureaucratic moves indicate the existence of a deliberate Russian policy regarding the deportation of civilians, which would demonstrate crimes against humanity.
The laws of armed conflict prohibit mass or individual forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from the occupied territory.
