61st session of the UN Human Rights Council
Agenda Item 2
General Debate
Item 2: Annual report of the UN High Commissioner for the Human Rights and report of the Office of the High Commissioner and the UN Secretary-General
Mr. President,
We thank the High Commissioner for his comprehensive global update. The assessment reflects a troubling reality: human rights violations are not isolated incidents - they are increasingly used as tools of war, repression, and political coercion.
As we enter the fifth year since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we are reminded that the erosion of international law anywhere weakens its protection globally.
Four years Ukraine has endured relentless attacks on its civilian population and infrastructure. Russian armed forces have committed torture, sexual violence, summary executions, and forced deportations, including of Ukrainian children. Entire communities have been displaced. Cultural heritage has been targeted. Basic services have been deliberately destroyed.
These violations are not only an assault on Ukraine - they are an assault on the principles upon which this Council stands.
The longer impunity persists, the greater the risk that such practices become normalized. Accountability is therefore not only about justice for Ukraine - it is about preserving the credibility of the international human rights system.
We urge for continued support for monitoring, documentation, and accountability efforts, and we call on all states to uphold their obligations under international law.
Mr. President, through you I urge those delegations who still uses the notion “war in Ukraine” to remember – there is no war in Ukraine, there is the war against Ukraine. Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
I thank you!