WFUWO Urges Justice for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine at the UN Human Rights Council

«Thousands of women, men and children in Ukraine have suffered from sexual violence inflicted on them by Russian military. With over 340 cases registered with prosecution offices, according to humanitarian organizations working on the ground and prosecutors, sexual assault of Ukrainian women in Russian occupation is widespread. Not all women are able to speak about it openly or testify to the police, especially in rural areas, and it might take years for more of them to speak, while there is no chance to get real numbers from Russian occupied territories. As soon as the territories returned under the Ukrainian control or in case of the survivors of sexual violence who escaped from Russian occupation, new crimes have been reported including witness accounts of particularly brutal sexual violence cases in Russian occupation, with torture, beatings resulting in grave injuries and psychological trauma.

We appreciate the attention of the Commission to the use of sexual violence as a means of torture in detention facilities in the recent reports. We would welcome the Commission’s practical recommendations about how to ensure support, reparation and justice for survivors of conflict related sexual violence. We believe that registration of such claims with the International Register of damage caused by the aggression will help rehabilitation of victims. We support Ukraine’s pilot project where testimonies of victims are verified by legal experts and prepared in a way that they can be presented as evidence in future trials. Russian authorities and all perpetrators of sexual violence must be held accountable for the war crimes of sexual violence that has been used as a weapon of war by Russian forces.»