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As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year, Human Rights Watch published a dispatch on March 23, 2026 calling on UN Human Rights Council member states to renew the mandate of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. The commission's latest findings document crimes against humanity, including the systematic deportation of Ukrainian children and serious violations of fair trial rights.
Children Deported: A Crime Against Humanity
The Commission of Inquiry verified the deportation or forcible transfer of at least 1,205 Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-occupied territories. Eighty percent of those children have not been returned. Russian authorities have systematically withheld information about the children's whereabouts from their parents and legal guardians, and have actively obstructed efforts to secure their return, instead placing them with Russian families or institutions.
The Commission concluded that these systematic acts — deportation, forcible transfer, and enforced disappearances — amount to crimes against humanity. This finding is consistent with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for President Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on charges of unlawful deportation of children.
Torture, Show Trials, and Occupied Territory
The Commission also documented serious violations of fair trial rights for Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war in Russian courts. These courts have been found to accept fabricated evidence or testimony obtained under torture, in proceedings characterised by a lack of judicial independence and an apparent presumption of guilt.
In occupied territories, Russian authorities continue to impose Russian law, unlawfully seize civilian property, and coerce residents to acquire Russian citizenship. They have also imposed Russian language and curriculum in schools, as part of what the Commission describes as a systematic campaign to suppress Ukrainian identity, language, and culture.
The Commission of Inquiry remains a cornerstone of accountability, helping preserve evidence, identify patterns of abuse, and support future prosecutions. Human Rights Council member states should support its renewal and ensure that it has the resources needed to continue independent investigations into grave abuses in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch, March 23, 2026
Why the Mandate Must Be Renewed
The UN Human Rights Council is currently in session and negotiating a resolution on the mandate renewal. HRW stresses that the Commission plays a unique role: it preserves evidence, identifies patterns of abuse, and provides a foundation for future prosecutions before the ICC and other international mechanisms. Allowing the mandate to lapse would send a dangerous signal of impunity at the very moment accountability is most needed.
Source: Human Rights Watch — A Step Toward Justice for Abuses in Ukraine
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