Mykhailo Romanov
Speaker: Mykhailo Romanov (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group) Conference theme: The situation in the occupied territories
The situation in the occupied territories is a very painful issue today. There is no access to these territories, so we usually get information about what is happening there from people who are leaving these territories, or those who are brave enough to resist the occupation authorities.
And yet, despite the fact that we do not have direct access to these territories, there are reasons to believe that we have a fairly complete understanding of what is happening there.
The situation in the occupied territories has several aspects.
Firstly, how the occupation authorities are trying to integrate these territories into Russian reality. This is a very complex and multidimensional issue.
There is the issue of treatment of those Ukrainians who remain under occupation, including pressure on those who have a pro-Ukrainian position and disagree with the actions of the occupation authorities.
The issue of forced passportisation of these people, education, social security, doing business and preserving the property of Ukrainians, and the organisation of the administrative system of these territories.
People are being forced to obtain Russian passports, creating conditions in which it is impossible to survive without them. This means that it is impossible to receive medical care, get a job, perform any actions with property, etc.
Russian propaganda narratives have been introduced in education.
In business, the entire remaining business infrastructure is being reoriented to Russian markets, business owners are changing, etc.
Ukrainian property is being taken away and re-registered in Russian registers.
There is a broad campaign to deport Ukrainians from some occupied territories and resettle Russians there. In particular, we are talking about the situation in Mariupol. This city is strategic for Russia and it is turning into a completely Russian logistics hub. Roads, bridges, railway lines are being built.
Information about these processes is collected and studied at the level of the state of Ukraine. In particular, we have the Centre for Occupation Studies, which deals with these issues.
But there is another side to the issue of the occupied territories. We are talking about how the occupying country actually behaves towards those Ukrainians who remain under occupation.
We receive information about these events from those who have left the occupation. These people usually describe the situation in very similar terms.
The signs of the occupation regime are as follows:
□ Pressure, suspense and terror;
□ Intensive propaganda and false information to residents of the occupied settlements;
□ Arrests, detentions, enforced disappearances, torture;
□ Deportation, transfer of children to the territory of Russia;
□ A separate category of victims of the actions of the occupation authorities are Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Our organisation deals with victims of torture and arrest. We try to monitor the situation with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and we also provide assistance to the families of prisoners of war who are considered missing and in captivity.
With regard to the deportation of children, back in 2023, we prepared and submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) a submission on genocide against Ukrainians in Mariupol, which included the crime of taking children from the territory of Mariupol. Later that year, we filed a separate submission on children deported by Russia.
Our lawyers and attorneys are currently working on these cases:
□ Almost 300 (284) cases of torture of Ukrainians in the occupied territories. Here we have cases concerning both military and civilians. Both of these categories of citizens are protected by the Geneva Conventions, so we are examining whether Russia has violated the requirements of these acts.
According to the UN, the torture of captured Ukrainians is a “common and acceptable practice” for Russian representatives, who take advantage of their own impunity. This is evidenced by the predominantly similar patterns of torture and the wide geographical distribution of torture chambers. Given the systematic nature of torture and its widespread use, we are talking about the commission of a crime against humanity by Russian military and persons affiliated with Russia. It is important to note that the practice of torture applies both to civilians detained in the occupied territories and to military personnel. Those who find themselves in captivity. A report on the situation in places of detention of Ukrainian military personnel in captivity is currently being prepared for publication by our organization.
□ Almost 80 (75) cases of sexual violence. As we can see, this practice is also systematic and widespread. Cases of sexual violence have been a constant practice in the occupied territories, and the episodes that have been exposed are only part of the overall picture. In reality, there are unfortunately many more.
The prevalence of sexual violence was also mentioned by the Commission of Inquiry on Violations in Ukraine, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. In October 2022, the Commission reported that victims of sexual violence in Ukraine were people aged from 4 to over 80.
□ 2333 cases of missing persons. These include prisoners of war, civilian prisoners and missing persons. We also found 131 prisoners convicted by Russian courts and courts in the temporarily occupied territory.
□ 38 places of detention in the Russian Federation and another 14 in the temporarily occupied territories.We managed to identify exactly where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian prisoners are being held.
For us, it is a given that most of these people are under Russian control. Our experience shows that these people are often returned in the course of exchanges. There are even cases when people are exchanged who were never known to be there. We found 214 people whose whereabouts were unknown.
We are convinced that here we are also dealing with a crime against humanity, as Russia demonstrates a concerted and systematic policy of silencing the fate of persons under their control. Our lawyers and attorneys usually help the families of the disappeared to correspond with the state authorities both in Ukraine and in Russia. And as statistics show, the Russian authorities respond to such requests very slowly and often not truthfully, or even evade answering.
This picture was confirmed by the UN Commission. In this regard, the Commission notes: “The widespread and systematic nature of enforced disappearances; the consistent involvement of various entities of the Russian Federation in the allocation and direction of resources and efforts to detain large numbers of civilians in various facilities for long periods of time; and the provision of standardised responses to families who have systematically failed to report the fate or whereabouts of missing persons during the three years of the armed conflict, indicate a coordinated state policy. The failure to disclose the whereabouts of the victims further indicates the intention of the Russian authorities to deprive them of the protection of the law.”
The UN is convinced that all this constitutes a crime against humanity, in accordance with Articles 7(1)(i) and 7(2)(i) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
At the beginning of this year, the register of missing persons under special circumstances listed 62,948 people. This figure includes both military and civilians. The bodies of 10,291 people have been located and identified.
In fact, there are many more victims. ... However, since 24 February 2022, just over 4000 people have been returned, including 168 Ukrainian civilians.
To sum up, the situation in the occupied territories is tragic. We are currently witnessing gross and brutal violations of human rights and fundamental principles of international peace and security.
This is a very disturbing signal for all people– especially when the perpetrator of these heinous crimes is a large state that is able to influence large-scale processes.
More information (in English):
□ The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative
□ The online KHPG library. There are links to one of the submissions to the ICC, other submissions, and literature on human rights and other topics.