Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry released a corresponding statement on Facebook.
The ministry draws the international community's attention to the Russian government's decision to initiate the denunciation of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
"This step is effectively a confession of a crime — the systemic practice of torture and a desire to evade responsibility for gross human rights violations. Modern Russia is a territory of lawlessness and degradation of human dignity. The decision to withdraw from the Convention for the Prevention of Torture only solidifies this reality and definitively places Russia among countries where the value of human life and dignity is zero," the MFA stressed.
The ministry clarified that unlike most other international treaties in this field, which rely mainly on declarations, reporting, or periodic reviews, the Convention includes a preventive mechanism of both regular and ad-hoc visits to places of detention by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to directly verify the conditions of detention and treatment of individuals.
Since February 2022, Ukraine has systematically insisted on Russia's exclusion from all cooperation mechanisms within the Council of Europe because, as the MFA notes, Russia has transformed into a totalitarian state with a dominant repressive apparatus that systematically violates human rights, undermines democracy, and disrespects the rule of law.
Russia formally remains a party to the international legal document, as the Convention's procedural provisions do not allow for the forced exclusion of a member state.
"At the same time, Russia has effectively destroyed the Convention's mechanism: it did not genuinely participate in the CPT's work and did not allow the Committee's experts onto its territory to study and document the situation with torture.
This fits into a broader Russian practice of blocking independent access, as well as denying full access for the International Committee of the Red Cross to places of detention, including those holding prisoners of war. All this indicates that Russia is systematically 'closing off' any channels of international oversight, trying to hide from the world the horrific truth about the system of torture chambers established in the country, and reclaiming its notorious reputation as an 'empire of prisons'," the MFA asserts.
The ministry noted that Ukraine's consistent political, legal, and public pressure in the Council of Europe and other international formats, systematic documentation of crimes, and mobilization of partners have deprived Russia of the ability to feign "cooperation" with torture prevention mechanisms and have led to the formalization of its desire to avoid independent oversight.
"A country that uses torture as an integral part of its policy cannot be a party to a Convention that is meant to unite rule-of-law states. The aggressor state's responsibility for numerous crimes, including torture, must be inescapable. Ukraine insists on the prompt use of international accountability mechanisms and calls on the international community to act decisively and without delay," the MFA added.
The corresponding statement was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Facebook.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine draws the attention of the international community to the decision of the Russian government to initiate the denunciation of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
"This step is, in fact, a confession of a crime – the systemic practice of torture and the desire to evade responsibility for gross human rights violations. Modern Russia is a territory of lawlessness and humiliation of human dignity. The decision to withdraw from the Convention for the Prevention of Torture only solidifies this reality and definitively places Russia among the countries for which the value of human life and dignity is zero," the MFA emphasized.
The department clarified that, unlike most other international treaties in this area, which rely mainly on declarations, reporting, or periodic reviews, the Convention contains a preventive mechanism of both regular and unannounced visits to places of detention by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to directly verify the conditions of detention and treatment of people.
Since February 2022, Ukraine has systematically insisted and continues to insist on Russia's exclusion from all cooperation mechanisms within the Council of Europe, because, as the MFA notes, Russia has turned into a totalitarian state with a dominance of the repressive apparatus that systematically violates human rights, undermines democracy, and disrespects the rule of law.
Russia formally remains a party to the international legal document, as the procedural provisions of the Convention do not provide for the forced exclusion of a member state.
"At the same time, Russia has been effectively destroying the Convention's mechanism: it has not taken a real part in the work of the CPT and has not allowed the Committee's experts onto its territory to study and document the situation with torture. This fits into the broader practice of the Russian Federation of blocking independent access, including refusing full access to the International Committee of the Red Cross to places of detention, including places where prisoners of war are held. All of this indicates that Russia is systematically 'closing' any channels of international control, trying to hide from the world the terrible truth about the system of torture chambers created in the country, and is regaining its notorious reputation as an 'empire of prisons'," the MFA asserts.
The ministry noted that the consistent political, legal, and public pressure from Ukraine in the Council of Europe and other international formats, the systematic documentation of crimes, and the mobilization of partners have deprived the Russian Federation of the opportunity to imitate "cooperation" with torture prevention mechanisms and have led to the formalization of the desire to avoid independent control.
"A country that uses torture as an integral part of its policy cannot be a party to a Convention that is meant to unite law-abiding states. The responsibility of the aggressor state for numerous crimes, including torture, must be inevitable. Ukraine insists on the prompt use of international mechanisms of accountability and calls on the international community to act actively and without delay," the MFA added.
The corresponding statement was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Facebook.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine draws the attention of the international community to the decision of the Russian government to initiate the denunciation of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
"This step is, in fact, a confession of a crime – the systemic practice of torture and the desire to evade responsibility for gross human rights violations. Modern Russia is a territory of lawlessness and humiliation of human dignity. The decision to withdraw from the Convention for the Prevention of Torture only solidifies this reality and definitively places Russia among the countries for which the value of human life and dignity is zero," the MFA emphasized.
The department clarified that, unlike most other international treaties in this area, which rely mainly on declarations, reporting, or periodic reviews, the Convention contains a preventive mechanism of both regular and unannounced visits to places of detention by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to directly verify the conditions of detention and treatment of people.
Since February 2022, Ukraine has systematically insisted and continues to insist on Russia's exclusion from all cooperation mechanisms within the Council of Europe, because, as the MFA notes, Russia has turned into a totalitarian state with a dominance of the repressive apparatus that systematically violates human rights, undermines democracy, and disrespects the rule of law.
Russia formally remains a party to the international legal document, as the procedural provisions of the Convention do not provide for the forced exclusion of a member state.
"At the same time, Russia has been effectively destroying the Convention's mechanism: it has not taken a real part in the work of the CPT and has not allowed the Committee's experts onto its territory to study and document the situation with torture. This fits into the broader practice of the Russian Federation of blocking independent access, including refusing full access to the International Committee of the Red Cross to places of detention, including places where prisoners of war are held. All of this indicates that Russia is systematically 'closing' any channels of international control, trying to hide from the world the terrible truth about the system of torture chambers created in the country, and is regaining its notorious reputation as an 'empire of prisons'," the MFA asserts.
The ministry noted that the consistent political, legal, and public pressure from Ukraine in the Council of Europe and other international formats, the systematic documentation of crimes, and the mobilization of partners have deprived the Russian Federation of the opportunity to imitate "cooperation" with torture prevention mechanisms and have led to the formalization of the desire to avoid independent control.
"A country that uses torture as an integral part of its policy cannot be a party to a Convention that is meant to unite law-abiding states. The responsibility of the aggressor state for numerous crimes, including torture, must be inevitable. Ukraine insists on the prompt use of international mechanisms of accountability and calls on the international community to act actively and without delay," the MFA added.
