Mr President,

Ukraine thanks Dr. Alice Jill Edwards for her comprehensive report and for presenting the Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture.

Now into its fifth year, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been marked by widespread and systematic use of torture against civilians and PoWs. As Commission of Inquiry concluded, it is a coordinated policy of the Russian Federation and amounts to crimes against humanity.

Independent international mechanisms have documented prolonged incommunicado detention, beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, sexual violence. Torture has been used to extract false confessions, spread fear and erase Ukrainian identity.

Behind every case, there is a human being whose dignity has been deliberately destroyed. Survivors carry deep physical and psychological scars, while many remain unlawfully detained. Ensuring accountability, full reparation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition is therefore not only a moral duty, but a legal obligation under international law.

Madam Special Rapporteur,

In situations where torture is used as a method of warfare and repression, what measures could strengthen international efforts to ensure accountability and effective, long-term support for survivors?

Ukraine remains firmly committed to justice and to restoring every victim’s dignity.

I thank you.