UN documents more than 1,000 cases of sexual violence since start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights notes that since the start of Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine, sexual violence has been used against civilians and prisoners of war as part of a shocking pattern of torture, intimidation, and coercion.
This is stated in a report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released on Friday, according to Ukrinform.
“Some 1,004 cases of sexual violence were documented from 24 February 2022, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, through to the end of July this year. Of these cases, 89 percent were attributed to Russian authorities - including members of the armed forces, the prison service and the national security service. The remaining 11 percent were attributed to Ukrainian authorities,” the report states.
The report, “Sexual Violence in the Context of the Russian Federation’s Full-Scale Armed Attack on Ukraine,” is based on confidential interviews with hundreds of victims and survivors of sexual violence, as well as other relevant materials, including court documents and official records.
It notes that the majority of victims of sexual violence were men, especially in places of detention; however, women and children were also affected, primarily in the occupied territory of Ukraine. Documented violations include gang rape, rape, genital mutilation, electric shock to the genitals, and beatings of the genitals, as well as other degrading acts of a sexual nature. The youngest documented survivor of rape was a four-year-old girl, and the oldest was an 82-year-old woman. In both cases, the sexual violence was committed by representatives of Russian authorities, according to the report.
Many men who survived sexual violence reported that they were electrocuted in the genital area using a Soviet military field telephone known as a “tapik.”
“The application of electric shocks to genitals with a “tapik” or taser was a common form of sexual violence used against Ukrainian POWs and retained medical personnel, with 155 (27 per cent) having endured this form at least once,” the report states.
According to the report, nearly half of the violations attributed to Ukrainian authorities regarding Russian prisoners of war and prisoners of war who are citizens of third countries consisted of threats of sexual violence.
“Sexual violence is a grave feature of the full-scale armed attack against Ukraine. It must stop immediately, irrespective of the perpetrators. Given the high prevalence of cases attributed to its forces, however, the Russian Federation in particular must take concrete and discernible steps to protect civilians and prisoners of war from all forms of torture, including sexual violence,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
He called on Russia to immediately, completely, and unconditionally cease the use of force against Ukraine and withdraw all its armed forces from Ukrainian territory in accordance with the UN Charter and binding norms of international law.
As reported by Ukrinform, Germany condemned Russia’s systematic human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and called for an immediate end to the torture of prisoners and the return of abducted Ukrainian children.
Photo: OP