Once flourishing city of Mariupol 'lies in ruins,' says UN rights chief

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – Mariupol and its residents have suffered "unimaginable horrors" since Russia's attack, the UN human rights chief said Thursday, expressing shock at the scale of destruction and many violations of international human rights law in the Ukrainian city.

At a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet said that since Russia began its war on Feb. 24, the violations of international humanitarian law in the southern port city have included "attacks against civilians and civilian objects."

"A once flourishing city lies in ruins. We estimate the civilian death toll in Mariupol to lie in the thousands, while only with time will the true scale of atrocities, casualties and damage become clear.

"Active hostilities are now focused on the Azovstal industrial area, with residential areas of the city now largely occupied by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups," the UN rights chief said.

Russia did not attend the special session of the council.

Bachelet was relieved that over 500 civilians, including children and older persons, were successfully evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant and other areas following the joint efforts of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and the UN.

Bachelet said combatants who are sick or injured must also be allowed to evacuate to receive medical care.

- Sexual violence

"My office is looking into allegations of sexual violence and has verified a dozen cases across the country," said Bachelet.

"I am concerned by allegations of sexual violence that have emerged from areas in the Kyiv region that were formerly under the control of Russian armed forces. There were instances of rape and murder of victims or their relatives."

The UN rights chief said survivors are often unwilling to be interviewed because of fear and stigma.

"Women and girls are the most frequently cited victims; however, reports of men and boys being affected are starting to emerge," said Bachelet.

She spoke of unlawful killings, including indications of "summary executions" in areas north of Kyiv that are "shocking."

"To date, over 1,000 civilian bodies have been recovered in the Kyiv region alone. Some of these people were killed in hostilities; others appear to have been summarily executed,” said Bachelet.

Such killings of civilians often appeared to be "intentional, carried out by snipers and soldiers" and her office has information about 300 such killings.

- Suspected of supporting Ukraine forces

The UN rights chief said unarmed local men were killed because Russian soldiers suspected them of supporting Ukrainian forces or otherwise being a potential threat. She said some were tortured before being killed.

"In the village of Katiuzhanka, Kyiv region, a young couple, their 14-year-old daughter, and a grandfather were shot by Russian soldiers while trying to drive to their house. The parents were killed, while the child received two gunshot wounds."

The UN has recorded destruction or damage to hundreds of educational and medical facilities and tens of thousands of civilian houses due to the hostilities.

Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine's first deputy minister of foreign affairs, told the council: "Russia's full-fledged war against my country and Moscow's unprovoked war is a war against us all."

After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, she said that Ukrainians never thought they would witness "atrocities within the fully-fledged invasion" by Russia.

"Over half a million of our citizens were forcibly deported to the Russian territory with their whereabouts unknown. Torture and enforced disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence, and the list of Russia's crimes is endless.

"Innocent civilians executed in the presence of their family members, women raped in front of their children, children raped in front of their mothers like the 11-year-old boy who was raped in front of his mother," said Dzhaparova.