Alternative to Geneva Conventions created in Ukraine

Vira Shurmakevych — Friday, 22 November 2024, 17:59

The Moscow Conventions were presented in Ukraine, consisting of 137 articles based on real-life accounts of former prisoners of war, their relatives and brothers-in-arms.

Source: the document is an alternative to the Geneva Conventions, as reported by the Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families 

Details: Its articles describe the "norms" of the Russian Federation regarding the treatment of prisoners of war: abuse, beatings, starvation, sexual violence, torture, etc.

Quote: "This is another attempt to show the world the consequences of a ‘neutral’ attitude to crimes against humanity. If we continue to ignore Russia's violation of the Geneva Conventions, it will mean that we live in a new reality where torture and murder are allowed.

Every silent crime is a new page of the Moscow Conventions," the Association emphasised.

In a remark for UP.Zhyttia, the Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families stated that the project took more than three months to complete. It was founded in cooperation with the Banda advertising firm, the media initiative for human rights, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War at Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Last year, Banda and us completed a project. Many people discussed the concerns and hardships that prisoners' families experience. One of these, of course, is noncompliance with the Geneva Conventions.

As a result, this time they approached us with an intriguing idea: to print new Geneva Conventions, rewritten by Russia, to communicate with them in the language they understand," the Association said.

The Moscow Conventions were developed to raise awareness and demand public and official recognition by the International Committee of the Red Cross that the Russian Federation violates Geneva Convention rules.

"The participating countries that have ratified the Geneva Conventions should force the Russian Federation to comply with the norms of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war regarding the mandatory repatriation of seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, regardless of their rank and their number," according to the book's authors.

The book was presented on 20 November in Kyiv. It is available online in a variety of languages.

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