13.01.2025 Statement by Denmark at the Arria-formular meeting on Ukrainian prisoners of war
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Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to extend my deep gratitude to all our briefers. Your courageous testimonies demand our collective attention and action.
We also thank the UK, US, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for organising today’s meeting and casting a light on this tragic issue. Too often in this building, our discussions become detached from the harshest realities of conflict. Victims are reduced to mere numbers in a report.
When this happens, the victims’ suffering is diminished, becoming part of a broader trend or pattern. Today’s topic is therefore an important opportunity to reflect on the human dimension of this horrible war.
Madam Chair,
Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, now nearing its grim three-year mark, continuously exposes Ukrainian civilians to the risk of detention. Thousands of Ukrainians are currently detained. Children as well as adults. The world cannot and must not look away.
Let me recall that Russia has the ability to end this human suffering today. It simply requires pulling its forces out of Ukraine and ending its senseless attacks on the Ukrainian people.
Madam Chair,
It is in times of crisis and conflict that our commitment to international law stands the ultimate test.
Human suffering may be widespread in times of war. But we are always obliged to do our utmost to minimise it. The Geneva Conventions clearly outline how.
Denmark is deeply concerned with the treatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees in this brutal war. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry has shed light on how Russian authorities have used torture against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war in the context of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It also shows how sexual violence as a form of torture has been prevalent in detention facilities used by Russian authorities. OHCHR, in its latest report, has recorded a significant increase in credible allegations of executions of Ukrainian servicepersons captured by Russian armed forces since August 2024.
Denmark reiterates that international humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention, must be fully respected. This includes granting “prisoner of war”-status to all persons fulfilling the criteria.
Today, we have heard three harrowing accounts. We remain appalled by the continuing reports of heinous breaches of international humanitarian law perpetrated by Russia.
It is almost a truism, but astoundingly it bears repeating today. Prisoners of war must be humanely treated, at all times by all parties. They must be given the right to communicate with the ICRC, with their family and they must enjoy protection of their status in all other respects.
Madam Chair,
[Let me reiterate Denmark’s support for Ukraine’s Peace Formula, which we believe can pave the way to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The human dimension of this Formula, including the safe return of prisoners of war and unlawfully detained civilians, is critical.]
To conclude,
Denmark will not relent in our support for Ukraine’s fight to protect its people and its sovereignty. We will continue to call out Russia’s breaches of the UN Charter and international law and urge all other members of this organization to do the same. We will make sure that also in this building, the fate of the thousands of Ukrainian civil detainees and prisoners of war are not forgotten.
Thank you
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