Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry in Ukraine is a United Nations commission of inquiry established by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022 with a mandate to investigate violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Commission delivered its reports on 18 October 2022 and 16 March 2023.

Creation
On 3 March 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) started debating the effect of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on human rights. On 4 March, in resolution A/HRC/49/L.1, the UNHRC condemned the violations of human rights and international law caused by the full-scale Russian invasion, called for Russia to stop its violations in Ukraine, called for Russia to completely withdraw from internationally recognised Ukrainian territory in order to prevent further violations, and decided to establish an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine. The resolution was passed by the UNHRC with 32 states in favour, 13 absentions and 2 (Eritrea and Russia) against.

The Russian representative on the UNHRC, Evgeny Ustinov, viewed the commission of inquiry as "a mere waste of resources, which could better be used to help civilians in Ukraine". Human Rights Watch expressed its support for the UNHRC to create a commission of inquiry into violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Ukraine by all groups involved.

Structure
The commission of inquiry was initially set up to include three human rights experts, initially for one year, headed by Erik Møse from Norway, and also including Jasminka Džumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pablo de Greiff from Colombia.

Aims
The aim of the commission of inquiry is to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The commission is required to make recommendations based on its investigation, initially reporting in September 2022 to the fifty-first and fifty-second sessions of the UNHRC and the seventy-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Reports

October 2022 report
On 18 October 2022, the Commission published its report on events that took place between the end of February and March 2022 in the four regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy.The Commission found that Russian armed forces were responsible for the large majority of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and that Ukrainian forces also committed violations of international humanitarian law, including two incidents that qualified as war crimes.

March 2023 report
In a report issued in March 2023, the Commission found that Russia had committed numerous violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine, and that many of these breaches constitute war crimes. Evidence gathered by the Commission for its March 2023 report includes: site visits to 56 localities in Ukraine; interviews with 595 people (including refugees in Estonia and Georgia); site visits to places destroyed in the war, gravesites; and sites where Russians detained and torture prisoners; and documentary and physical evidence, including written records, photographs and videos, satellite images, and weapon fragments. The Ukrainian government responded to inquiries from the Commission; the Russian authorities refused to cooperate.

The report concluded: "that Russian authorities have committed numerous violations of international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes, including the war crime of excessive incidental death, injury, or damage, wilful killings, torture, inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement, rape, as well as unlawful transfers and deportations. The Commission has also found that the Russian armed forces’ waves of attacks, starting 10 October 2022, on Ukraine's energy-related infrastructure and the use of torture by Russian authorities may amount to crimes against humanity."

See also
 Allegations of genocide of Ukrainians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
 International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine
 Legality of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
 Ukraine v. Russian Federation (2022)
 United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine

References

External links
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine

Human rights in Ukraine
War crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine and the United Nations
Russia and the United Nations
2022 in the United Nations