Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Oral Report on Ukraine
Statement as Prepared for Delivery by Ambassador Michèle Taylor
Delegation of the United States of America
Human Rights Council – 49th Session
March 30, 2022
Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you for the strength of your report, Madame High Commissioner.
The United States appreciates the OHCHR’s ongoing work in Ukraine as President Putin continues his brutal, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion.
Russia’s war has caused needless death, including the deaths of children, and suffering of civilians. We are horrified by Russia’s tactics. They have killed the most vulnerable in this war: pregnant women at a maternity hospital, babies, and civilians desperately trying to flee.
We deplore attacks harming journalists and condemn the killings of media workers.
We are deeply concerned for the safety of vulnerable communities in Ukraine who may be targeted for violence or repression.
We are especially alarmed by reports of abductions of civilians by Russia’s forces, including at least three Ukrainian mayors, and forced deportations to Russia of Ukraine’s civilians.
We recall that Russia’s human rights abuses on Ukrainian territory are not new. Since 2014, Russia has held political prisoners and ruthlessly suppressed dissent in Crimea, while troubling reports persist of arbitrary or incommunicado detention and torture in Russia-controlled areas of the Donbas.
All of this – this invasion – must stop!
Madam High Commissioner: What more can we do to protect vulnerable communities in Ukraine in the face of Russia’s abject aggression, and how can we promote accountability for violations of international law? I thank you.
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