Calls to Investigate Indiscriminate Shelling in Luhansk
Luhansk activists urge human rights organizations to investigate military attacks on civilians.
This was stated in an appeal by the Luhansk regional branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine.
“This morning a war crime was once again committed in Luhansk. A one-story building in the town Popasna was shelled. The shell hit a house on Vorovskoho St. (which is in the middle of a residential area) and killed a 55-year-old woman. There are no structures of military importance or soldiers nearby, so the shelling was a purposeful targeting of civilians and must be defined as a war crime,” the statement says.
This year, there were many similar cases in Luhansk oblast. The Committee notes that Ukraine has done nothing to ensure its responsibilities to “carry out its obligation to protect the right to life in the conflict territory,” particularly in regards to investigating the use of weapons against civilians.
The Committee of Voters of Ukraine tries to encourage the authorities to carry out such investigations, at least in Ukrainian controlled areas, but only gets formalized replies. Supposedly, such acts qualify as terrorism and are investigated by SBU (Security Service of Ukraine).
“We believe that a special investigation team (commission) must be established, which would include weapons and ballistics experts that could collect and document evidence regarding the use of weapons and reliably establish directions of fire,” the organizations states.
Such a commission, which would necessarily require foreign experts and OSCE observers, could also record the aftermath of attacks and monitor the presence of military objects in the area of fire. The results of such an investigation could be grounds for initiating proceedings at the International Criminal Court for war crimes. It would also remind the commanders of forces on both sides that they must not use weapons against the civilian population. The Luhansk regional branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine urges human rights organizations to work together to this end.
