Mr. President,
Estonia aligns itself with the EU statement.
We express our concerns over the human rights situations in Burundi, Myanmar and Syria and refer to respective Nordic-Baltic statements.
In the ongoing full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s serious breaches of international law and grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law have become shockingly routine. Russia’s daily bombardments and missile attacks to destroy civilian and critical infrastructure, especially the energy sector, hospitals and schools, and deliberate killings of Ukrainian civilians, demonstrate Russia’s total lack of humanity towards innocent people and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, their systematic and widespread torture. We also call on the Russian authorities to immediately return all unlawfully and forcibly deported Ukraine’s children. Full accountability for all Russia’s crimes must be ensured, including by establishing a special tribunal for the crime of aggression.
The human rights situation in Russia has significantly deteriorated. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and systematic suppression of civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, including crackdown on dissent and civil society, inside Russia, are two sides of the same coin. The sentencing of a US-Russian dual citizen, Ksenia Karelina, to 12 years in prison for donating 50 dollars to helping Ukraine, is yet another example.
In Belarus, repressions against political opponents of the regime and dissidents continue to intensify. We condemn the systematic and widespread use of torture or inhumane treatment, including psychological humiliation of thousands of political prisoners. We continue to call upon Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners. We urge the Belarusian authorities to uphold their obligations under international human rights law, including the Convention Against Torture.
We are deeply concerned about the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. We express our commitment to Israel’s right to self-defence and security and call on Israel to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians. Hamas must be held accountable for its violations of international law and it must release all hostages immediately.
Thank you!