The “tragic killing” on the penal colony at Olenivka within the Donetsk area of Ukraine, beneath short-term Russian army management, occurred in a single day on 28 July 2022.
Lots of the POWs have been Ukrainian troopers who had surrendered on the stricken Azovstal metal plant within the metropolis of Mariupol.
Enchantment for justice
“The prisoners of warfare who have been injured or died at Olenivka, and their relations, deserve the reality to be recognized, and for these chargeable for breaches of worldwide legislation to be held accountable,” Mr. Türk mentioned.
The human rights chief famous that employees from his Workplace, OHCHR, have met with the households of the victims and heard their pleas for reality and justice.
“Certainly, they’ve a proper to reality, justice and reparations,” he continued. “For all these impacted by this tragedy, we should do all we will to make sure justice is finished.”
No entry for UN
Mr. Türk mentioned Russia offered neither passable assurances about safe entry for the UN to go to the positioning, nor granted OHCHR requests to entry areas of Ukraine beneath its short-term army management.
His Workplace, nonetheless, has been capable of conduct intensive interviews with survivors and undertaken detailed evaluation of accessible further info, in keeping with OHCHR’s established apply.
Whereas the exact circumstances of the incident stay unclear, info obtainable coupled with evaluation has enabled OHCHR to conclude that the blast was not brought on by a HIMARS rocket.
Prosecute the perpetrators
OHCHR mentioned that based mostly on the knowledge obtainable, it isn’t doable at this stage to determine the precise supply of the explosion, or the precise path from which a weapon might have been fired. OHCHR will proceed to comply with up on the incident.
“Prisoners of warfare are protected beneath worldwide humanitarian legislation. Deaths or critical harm of POWs have to be adopted up by an official and thorough enquiry on the a part of the Detaining Energy,” Mr. Türk mentioned.
He confused that any suspicion of felony conduct have to be promptly, completely, independently, impartially and transparently investigated, and people accountable needs to be prosecuted.
Mines at nuclear plant
In the meantime, consultants from the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA) have reported seeing anti-personnel mines across the website of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Energy Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, the UN nuclear watchdog mentioned on Monday.
IAEA consultants have been stationed at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which has been beneath Russian management since early within the warfare. Ukrainian employees stay in place.
Throughout an inspection on Sunday, the IAEA crew noticed some mines situated in a buffer zone between the plant’s inner and exterior perimeter limitations.
They have been in an space restricted to working personnel and have been dealing with away from the positioning. No mines have been noticed throughout the internal website perimeter.
The consultants have been “advised that it’s a army resolution, and in an space managed by army,” mentioned IAEA Director Common Rafael Mariano Grossi.
“However having such explosives on the positioning is inconsistent with the IAEA security requirements and nuclear safety steering and creates further psychological strain on plant employees – even when the IAEA’s preliminary evaluation based mostly by itself observations and the plant’s clarifications is that any detonation of those mines mustn’t have an effect on the positioning’s nuclear security and safety techniques,” he mentioned.
