Switzerland welcomes Ukraine Commission of Inquiry report

The three-member commission is chaired by judge Erik Møse of Norway (centre), who said war crimes have been committed. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Switzerland has joined other western nations in welcoming an interim report by the UN’s independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which pointed to Russian war crimes.

In its first, interim report to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, the commission denounced Russian use of “explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas” and indiscriminate attacks that had caused “immense damage and suffering to civilians”. It also pointed to a large number of executions in the regions it visited, sexual violence by “some” Russian soldiers, including against children and elderly women, torture and ill-treatment, and forced displacement of civilians.

“War crimes have been committed,” said commission chair Erik Møse of Norway in his spoken remarks. Two incidents were also found of Ukrainian mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war.

The independent international commission of inquiryExternal link was established by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in March to investigate alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Ukraine and preserve evidence for “future legal proceedings”. Other commissioners are Jasminka Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pablo de Greiff of Colombia. The commission also has 24 investigators, according to Møse.

The interim report is based on investigations in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Soumy regions of Ukraine. Its commissioners and investigators have so far visited dozens of sites and heard the testimony of more than 150 victims and witnesses. Commissioners stressed that they would continue and broaden their probe before submitting a final, written report to the Human Rights Council in March next year.

Switzerland’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva Jürg Lauber said the commission’s work was “a fundamental step” in establishing responsibility and obtaining justice. Other western nations also hailed the report at the Human Rights Council, while Russian allies such as Syria denounced western “anti-Russia propaganda”. Ukraine called for an international tribunal. Russia was not present at the session.