HRN has released an oral statement condemning Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and calling for all war crimes and crimes against humanity to be investigated and prosecuted. We particularly condemn in the strongest terms Russian statements indicating a willingness to use nuclear weapons, which must never be used under any circumstances.
The statement may be viewed below, and a transcript of the statement is below that.
Transcript of Oral Statement Condemning Russia’s Illegal Invasion of Ukraine
Human Rights Now strongly condemns the Russian military’s illegal invasion of Ukraine which clearly violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and right to self-determination.
Russian forces have repeatedly bombed civilian residences and facilities, including attacks on hospitals, schools, a shopping center, theatre, and elderly home; the indiscriminate shelling of densely populated areas in Mariupol; the targeting of its humanitarian evacuation corridor; and the reported killing of 136 children.[1] Such attacks constitute serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to war crimes.
As an NGO based in Japan, a country that has gravely suffered from both nuclear weapons and a nuclear power plant disaster, we condemn in the strongest terms the Russian military’s attacks on and seizures of nuclear power plants, as well as President Putin’s and other Russian officials’ statements demonstrating a willingness to use nuclear weapons.
The use of nuclear weapons will not only cause innumerable deaths and long-lasting devastation of people’s health, the environment, and society in the region, but they endanger all of humanity with the risk of a total nuclear war. Nuclear weapons must never be used or threatened under any circumstances.
All alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity must be investigated and perpetrators brought to justice. We further urge the Russian government to immediately cease all military actions and withdraw its forces.
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[1] https://www.rferl.org/a/bellingcat-map-civilians-ukraine/31760848.html; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60585603; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60629851; https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/10/world/ukraine-russia-war; https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/ukraine-cluster-munitions-kill-child-and-two-other-civilians-taking-shelter-at-a-preschool/; https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/07/under-shelling-kharkiv; https://www.space.com/mariupol-ukraine-damage-satellite-photos; https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Ukraine-war/Ukraine-war-Free-to-read/Ukraine-latest-Officials-rush-to-clarify-Biden-s-comment-on-Putin