Гаряча лінія
Гаряча лінія
Mr Hundt emphasized that the Commissioner is one of the ICRC's key partners in Ukraine and said he was ready to work more closely on humanitarian issues.
Representatives of the ICRC in Ukraine informed about the measures they are taking to provide humanitarian assistance and search for missing persons who may be in russian captivity.
I drew attention of the delegation to the fact that since February 24 the Commissioner's hotline has received more than 28,000 appeals from citizens, of which 9,000 concerned the search for their relatives and friends, including servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We sent 120 inquiries to the ICRC about the missing persons, whose fate could not be ascertained through the resources of the relevant state bodies of Ukraine, to which we unfortunately did not receive answers.
The head of the ICRC in Ukraine agreed to nominate an employee of the organization to address these issues and intensify further cooperation in the search for such persons.
Drew the attention of the delegation members to the problem of forced deportation of Ukrainian citizens from the temporarily occupied territories. Currently, the media of the aggressor country, citing high-ranking russian officials, report the removal of 880,000 residents of these territories, including 164,000 children. These people are being relocated to 45 regions of Russia and assigned to temporary accommodation.
Said that I had initiated the creation of an international working group with the participation of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michel Bachelet, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly and European Ombudsmen to develop a mechanism for returning Ukrainian citizens home to Ukraine or Europe. The ICRC should also join the working group.
The issues of observance of the rights of prisoners of war in Ukraine and Russia were discussed. I assured the ICRC representatives in Ukraine that Ukraine fully complied with the requirements of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which I was able to see for myself by visiting one of their places of detention.
Instead, I proposed that the ICRC, in accordance with the organization's mandate, to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia places of deprivation liberty and check the conditions of their detention.
We also agreed to provide the ICRC in Ukraine with information on the humanitarian needs of the population, including the occupied territories and areas of hostilities, which we receive daily from calls to the Commissioner's hotline.