Ukraine has been fighting against new Russian armed aggression for exactly a month. Kremlin uses war crimes as its warfare tactics. Foreign observers are talking about huge losses, and we feel the pain and suffering of civilian people. No military purposes may justify such actions.

The Russian Federation and its leaders have escaped responsibility for war crimes in Chechnia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria and Africa. Russian military leaders have never been punished and thus, were encouraged to commit more and more crimes. This time we unite our efforts to break the vicious circle of impunity.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and the Center for Civil Liberties are establishing a global initiative to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes committed during the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

We work with the most authoritative NGOs in their regions: Chuguyiv Human Rights Protection Group, Northern Human Rights Protection Group, Cherkasy Human Rights Protection Center, Kherson Regional Foundation for Compassion and Health, Kherson branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Territory of Success  , Odesa regional branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, NGO “MART” in Chernigiv, Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Podil Legal League, Human Rights Group “SICH” in Dnipro, “SIM” Legal and Political Research Center in Lviv and other organizations (the list is being updated). This initiative is joined by public receptions of the UHHRU in Kramatorsk, Toretsk, Mariupol, Pokrovsk, Chernivtsi, Сherkasy, Uzhhorod.

We will be documenting the events which have signs of crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes) in all regions of Ukraine which became the targets of attacks of the Russian Federation.

In particular, we will collect evidence and facts about intentional attacks on civilians, civilian and protected sites, intentional murders, tortures and cruel treatment, rapes and other forms of sexual violence, forced disappearances, use of protected individuals as “living shields”, repressions against identified groups (Roma people, LGBT communities, religious people), the use of indiscriminate weapons in populated areas, etc.

We will work at the international level to immediately use existing mechanisms of the United Nations, Council of Europe, OSCE, EU and the International Criminal Court to stop the brutality of these violations.

We welcome organizations from Ukraine and other countries that would like to join and become our partners. We would also eagerly coordinate our actions with international organizations and networks, government agencies, public associations, volunteer initiatives and groups who also engaged in this work to achieve our common goal.

Contacts of the representatives of the Initiative:

Oleksandr Pavlichenko [email protected]

Oleksandra Matviichuk [email protected]

Yevhen Zakharov [email protected]