For the first time, the US authorities officially charged Russia with crimes against humanity. This was stated by US Vice President Kamala Harris at the Munich Security Conference.
“The United States has officially established that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.” And I say to all those who committed these crimes, and their superiors involved in these crimes, you will be held accountable,” said the vice president.
She said that the States have carefully examined the evidence of the crimes committed, and there is no doubt about their status.
The Russian army is carrying out “widespread and systematic attacks on the civilian population,” committing “horrible murders, torture, rape, deportation and executions,” Harris said. A UN report cited a case of a Russian soldier forcing a four-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him.
Harris added: “Let’s all agree: on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown: justice must be served.” In her speech, she also listed the most famous cases on the basis of which Russia is accused.
“We have all seen pictures of the theater in Mariupol [where] hundreds of people were killed. Recall the image of the pregnant mother who was killed after the maternity hospital where she was preparing to give birth [to the child] was shelled. Remember the images of civilians in Bucha, shot in cold blood. Their bodies were left on the street <…>. Remember the four-year-old girl who, as reported by the UN, was raped by a Russian soldier, ”Harris listed.
In addition, Russia forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children. This week it became known about 43 camps for the “re-education” of children illegally taken out of Ukraine. They were discovered by British experts.
All these crimes, according to the Vice President of the United States, are an attack on universal human values, Harris said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also condemned Russia’s war crimes .
Based on a thorough analysis of the law and the available facts, I have established that members of the Russian military and other Russian officials have committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” the head of the State Department said. “These crimes cannot go unpunished. All those responsible must be held accountable,” he added.
Although the concept of “crimes against humanity” officially falls outside the scope of international treaties, such cases can be considered by international courts, writes Politico. However, it is not as specific as “genocide,” the publication adds.
“Unlike genocide, crimes against humanity do not have to be directed against a specific group. Instead, any civilian population, regardless of their affiliation, can become a victim of an attack. Another important difference is that in the case of crimes against humanity, there is no need to prove the existence of a general specific intent,” explains the UN website .
Source : The Moscow Times