The ‘Liga Portuguesa dos Direitos Humanos – Civitas’ strongly condemns the military incursions and violence committed by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine.

There is no justification for the violence and the return of war to the European continent, which the whole world has seen, nor do President Vladimir Putin’s statements that he wants to incapacitate a neighboring country militarily and proceed with its “denazification” have any support in reality or in international law.

According to Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, its “members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force, whether against the territorial integrity or political independence of a State…“. The actions taken by Russia are in direct violation of the provisions of this international treaty, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) must act and not remain silent.

The ICC has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine since 2014, following 2 complaints brought by Ukraine against Russia under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, with ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda already concluding in December 2020 that there are reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine since December 2013.[1]

The Portuguese League for Human Rights – Civitas also urges all parties involved in the conflict to respect international humanitarian laws on the conduct of hostilities and on the occupation of territories.

War cannot be the answer to solve existing conflicts, but the path of dialogue and tolerance must be preferred, as well as the recognition of the existence of bonds of brotherhood among peoples, the real victims of hostilities, and of similar aspirations to live in peace and security.

The ‘Liga Portuguesa dos Direitos Humanos – Civitas’ is in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and all those affected by this conflict, and also joins the numerous messages of condemnation of violence, including those of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and of our colleagues, its members, in Russia: Citizens’ Watch (CW), Human Rights Centre “Memorial”, and The Anti-Discrimination Center “Memorial”, and in Ukraine: Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL).

 

[1] https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=201211-otp-statement-ukraine

Photo: Small White Bear (Flickr)