By KYIV. Dec 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes that assistance of ombudsmen will help to return Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and deportees home.
"At a time when, to put it mildly, we do not see decisiveness and specific actions of organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, we should look for and find new formats of interaction. If we do not see a response, we should look for new lines of cooperation. Perhaps it is the system of ombudsmen that will help bring us closer to the desired result – the return home of all Ukrainians, adults and children who are kept by force in the territory of the Russian Federation," the head of state said at the international conference "Human Rights in Dark Times" in Kyiv on Friday.
"At least we should try," he said.
Zelensky called on all domestic and international non-governmental organizations for cooperation.
Russia has committed "such a bulk of crimes and destroyed so many lives that our country needs as much cooperation with the human rights community and international partners as possible in order to restore justice," the president said.
"There must be a united legal front to overcome the Russian genocidal policy. That is why I call on all government officials and all representatives of civil society who care about people and humanity, representatives of international human rights organizations and agencies to work now in a coordinated manner, at all levels, together to restore the rights of Ukrainians violated by the war and to bring the aggressor to justice. We must find such a formula for cooperation that would be the maximum result for Ukraine and for the international legal order," he said.
According to Zelensky, a Special Tribunal should be created to deal with Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine.
"I am calling on you to do everything so that the majority in the UN General Assembly supports the relevant draft resolution for the sake of establishing justice," he said.
The president also stressed the need for a Compensation Mechanism that would provide compensation from the aggressor’s assets to all those affected by the Russian war.
"Relevant resolution was supported by the UN General Assembly, and I am asking you to assist in its maximum implementation. All Russian murderers, all those who organized and implemented the Russian genocidal policy and terror must be held accountable. I am asking you to cooperate for this with the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, with partners investigating Russian crimes, and with the International Criminal Court," Zelensky said.
