Melnyk calls inclusion of Russian army on UN “list of shame” for sexual crimes historic event
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, considers it a historic event that Secretary-General António Guterres has added the Russian army to the “list of shame”—a list of armed forces that systematically commit crimes of sexual violence.
The Permanent Representative made this statement in a video posted on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.
“The Russian army is on the UN’s blacklist of shame! Finally!” the Permanent Representative stated.
According to him, “today is truly a historic day for Ukraine and Ukrainians on the path to holding Russia accountable for war crimes.”
This is “a great victory for our national diplomacy, our team,” he emphasized.
“This is an important argument that gives us new strength to even more actively promote our interests and ban Russia at the UN,” the diplomat added.
As reported by Ukrinform’s correspondent in New York, the Ukrainian side regularly informed the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, about the numerous crimes committed by Russians against Ukrainian women and men, particularly military personnel who survived Russian captivity.
From now on, Russia will appear on both UN “lists of shame”—regarding violations of children’s rights in armed conflicts and conflict-related sexual violence.
As reported by Ukrinform, Guterres released an annual report on Friday regarding crimes of sexual violence during armed conflicts, which includes the Russian army and affiliated military units.
The “list of shame” contains a list of armed forces for which there are credible grounds to believe that they systematically commit crimes of sexual violence.
Last year, Guterres noted a sharp increase in gross violations of children’s rights during Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine and, for the third time, included the Russian army on the corresponding “list of shame” regarding children in armed conflicts.