The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today, October 2, unanimously supported the resolution on missing persons, prisoners of war and civilians held captive in Russia.
The head of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, Ukrainian MP Alexey Goncharenko, announced this in his Telegram channel.
In general, the resolution “Missing persons, prisoners of war and civilians in captivity as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine” was adopted by 74 votes.
A member of the Ukrainian PACE delegation, People’s Deputy Yevgenia Kravchuk, noted on her Facebook page that with this resolution PACE condemned the detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war, as well as foreigners and civilians fighting for Ukraine.
The Assembly also noted that it would continue its efforts until the last prisoner is released, Kravchuk said.
According to Kravchuk, the resolution states that:
- 65 thousand 956 military personnel and civilians were registered as missing or captured, of which 50 thousand 916 were registered as missing based on verified data (of which civilians are much larger than military). Although the actual number may be much higher;
- The Assembly strongly condemns the fact that Russia does not provide full access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians, which is contrary to the requirements of the Geneva Conventions III and IV and Additional Protocol I;
- mentions the massacre and mutilation of Ukrainian prisoners in the former penal colony in Olenivka, Donetsk region on July 28-29, 2022. To this day, this atrocity remains unpunished, and the wounded defenders are still held captive;
- PACE recalls that 30 Ukrainian citizen journalists and media workers remain illegally detained by Russia in appalling conditions;
- PACE considers it extremely important that the International Committee of the Red Cross has immediate and unhindered access to all places of detention in accordance with the conditions and powers of its mandate. It calls on the Russian Federation to fully respect the ICRC’s right of access and asks the international community to support and facilitate the implementation of this mandate;
- PACE recognizes the role of civil society organizations in supporting the families of prisoners of war and civilian hostages and recommends strengthening cooperation with them, which will include providing them with financial support, sharing best practices and facilitating advocacy efforts.
Source: Racurs
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