Russia commits war crime compelling Ukrainians in occupied areas into military – HRW

The relevant statement was made by Human Rights Watch, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Russia’s practice of compelling Ukrainian residents in occupied areas to serve in its armed forces is a war crime, the organization emphasized.

“Russian authorities openly and unlawfully force men in occupied areas of Ukraine to fight against their own country. Less visible is their practice of pressuring Ukrainian civilians in detention, who have nowhere to hide or flee, to join the Russian forces,” Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Since occupying Crimea in 2014, Russian authorities have held 18 unlawful conscription campaigns that disproportionately affected Crimean Tatars, forcing many of them to flee. Between 2014 and 2021, Russia conscripted close to 30,000 Crimean men. According to Human Rights Watch, many were sent to serve at military bases in Russia, a practice explicitly prohibited by international humanitarian law.

Additionally, Russia regularly carries out military propaganda campaigns in Crimea, including among children, also in violation of international humanitarian law.

International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits a party to an armed conflict from compelling residents of the territories it occupies or effectively controls to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. The Hague Regulations of 1907 forbid Russia from compelling Ukrainian nationals from taking part in military operations directed against their own country. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, Russia is also prohibited from any “pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment.” These prohibitions are absolute, and their violation may constitute a war crime, Human Rights Watch concluded.