More than 1,000 cases of sexual violence have been recorded since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced on Thursday, attributing nine in ten incidents to the Russian side.
"I am deeply concerned by the frequency of these abhorrent acts and fear they will continue amid the relentless violence we see every day in Ukraine," High Commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement.
According to a new report, based on confidential interviews conducted with hundreds of victims of violence committed by both sides, as well as court documents and official data, 1,004 cases of sexual violence were recorded from 24 February 2022, the date Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, to the end of July.
That figure "represents only part of the reality," Danielle Bell, head of the UN's human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva, noting that investigators had managed to speak with only around 10% of detainees released from the two camps, and had no access to Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.
Of all recorded cases, 89% were attributed to the Russian side, mainly members of the armed forces, prison administration and national security services, and 11% to Ukrainians.
These acts of violence "form part of a shocking pattern of torture, intimidation and coercion" dating back to the start of the conflict, the Human Rights Office warned.
The majority of victims of this violence are men, mainly held in detention centres, though women and children were also targeted, primarily in occupied Ukrainian territory.
"The violations committed include gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks and blows to the genitals, as well as other degrading acts of a sexual nature," the Human Rights Office said.
The youngest recorded survivor of rape was a four-year-old girl, and the oldest an 82-year-old woman; in both cases, the acts were committed by Russian authorities, it added.
Several survivors reported being subjected to electric shocks to the genitals.
Almost half of the violations attributed to Ukrainian authorities against Russian prisoners of war or third-country nationals involved threats of sexual violence.
The rest involved cases in which victims were forced to undress and subjected to electric shocks and blows to the genitals, as well as two sexual assaults and two attempted rapes.
"Russia and Ukraine must investigate all credible allegations of sexual violence swiftly, thoroughly and impartially, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice," Türk said.
Source: AMNA
