Speaking ahead of Thursday’s summit in Paris, where a coalition of states bringing together leaders across Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Türkiye will discuss support for Ukraine and defense against Russian aggression, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:
“As European and other leaders come together to affirm their determination to defend Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression, Amnesty International calls on them to prioritize justice for Ukraine and center their proposals on human rights protection for all.
“Russia has perpetrated all manner of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine, including deadly deliberate airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure, the torture and enforced disappearance of Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war, and executions and killings of individuals in Russian captivity. It has also overseen the forcible transfer of children to Russia, the suppression of non-Russian identities and a campaign of harassment and intimidation to ensure compliance with Russian authorities in Crimea and other Russian-occupied territories.
“We urge leaders at the summit to do all within their power and authority to put a stop to these heinous crimes, protect the people of Ukraine and uphold their rights to justice, accountability, and reparation. We call on the leaders to ensure that those most impacted by Russia’s war of aggression have their voices heard and their needs met.
By failing to enforce international law anywhere, Europe’s leaders help weaken it everywhere.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“As the people of Ukraine and many others caught up in the world’s conflicts demonstrate daily, justice and freedom from oppression are secured though resistance that upholds human rights, shared values and a clear-minded vision for a better, more just future.
“The coalition of European and other states must recognize that their stand for Ukraine is grounded on a broader vision: a vision for the freedom and human security of Ukrainians and all people the world over; a vision grounded in the promise of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today’s leaders must defend those standards steadfastly, without fear or favour.
“In this instance, it is the Russian authorities and Vladimir Putin that are the aggressors. But many world leaders, from Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump to Xi Jinping and Nayib Bukele, are actively undermining the international rule of law. We watch with alarm as increasingly authoritarian leaders are rising to power across the globe – and many of them finding comfort in Presidents Putin and Trump’s shared disdain for international law and willingness to sacrifice justice and victims’ rights.
“European Leaders in particular must be alert to this ominous trend. They must reject the double standards that have become the hallmark of European international policy, painfully evident in its failure to protect the people of Gaza from Israel’s genocide. By failing to enforce international law anywhere, Europe’s leaders help weaken it everywhere.
“Instead, Europe must build a different, broader and much stronger international coalition – one capable of withstanding not only Russia’s belligerent ambitions, but also of protecting human rights, and the multilateral and international legal order. Supporting Ukraine demands that they hold all governments to the same standards they apply to Russia. It demands too that they enforce the arms embargo to Sudan and rectify all instances of double standards. Persisting with a selective, inconsistent approach to international law will deprive the European leaders’ position of any international credibility.”