Status of prisoners of war under international humanitarian law must be respected

Written declaration No. 751 | Doc. 15598 | 30 August 2022

Signatories:

Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Laima Liucija ANDRIKIENĖ, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Ms Larysa BILOZIR, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Mr Artem DUBNOV, Ukraine, ALDE ; Ms Nicole DURANTON, France, ALDE ; Mr Erkin GADIRLI, Azerbaijan, EC/DA ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Maria JUFEREVA-SKURATOVSKI, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Serhii KALCHENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Mr Claude KERN, France, ALDE ; Ms Olena KHOMENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Mr Christian KLINGER, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Yevheniia KRAVCHUK, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Jacques LE NAY, France, ALDE ; Mr Oleksandr MEREZHKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Olena MOSHENETS, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Arkadiusz MULARCZYK, Poland, EC/DA ; Mr Dmytro NATALUKHA, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Ms Diana STOICA, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Pavlo SUSHKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Mr Raivo TAMM, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Rustem UMEROV, Ukraine, ALDE ; Ms Lesia VASYLENKO, Ukraine, ALDE ; Ms Yelyzaveta YASKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

All prisoners of war are protected by the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 and Additional Protocol I. Norms regarding the status of prisoners of war are fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law.

Having carried out the horrible execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, the Russian Federation is looking for new justifications for its war crimes.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has labelled the Azov – special purpose unit of the National Guard of Ukraine as a "terrorist organisation". We strongly condemn any fake show trial of Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Azov Special Unit in the occupied Mariupol, and are outraged by the actions of some media, which show footage of the cages in which the accused will be kept during the "show of shame". The Russian Federation has no right to prosecute prisoners of war for the fact of their participation in the defence of Ukraine against the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

We call on the Council of Europe to condemn these blatant violations of international humanitarian law and to step up its contribution to holding the perpetrators, including from the Russian Federation’s political and military leadership, responsible under international law.