On April 14, 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted a statement on the genocide committed by Russia in Ukraine and called on parliaments around the world to recognize this genocide.
Posted yesterday at 9:00 a.m.
On April 27, 2022, the House of Commons of Canada passed a motion by unanimous consent that it be resolved that “the House recognize that the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people”.
Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, also known as the Genocide Convention, states that “genocide means any of the following acts committed in intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
- Killing of members of the group;
- Serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of existence calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
- Measures aimed at preventing births within the group;
- Forced transfer of children from the group to another group”.
On March 16, 2022, the International Court of Justice in The Hague rendered an interim judgment in the case ofUkraine v. Russian Federation, first stating that “Ukraine and the Russian Federation are both parties to the Genocide Convention”, then stating that “the Court considers that the civilian population affected by the current conflict is extremely vulnerable. Many civilians were killed or injured in the “special military operation” led by the Russian Federation, which also caused significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure. The attacks, which are still ongoing, are making the living conditions of the civilian population increasingly difficult. Many people do not have access to basic foodstuffs, drinking water, electricity, essential medicines or heating. Huge numbers of people are trying to flee the hardest hit cities in extremely dangerous conditions.”
On this basis, the International Court of Justice declared interim provisional measures, including the fact that “the Russian Federation must immediately suspend the military operations it began on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine”. .
Russia is in flagrant violation of this ruling by the International Court of Justice, as Russian forces continue their vicious bombardments of Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, and commit countless war crimes by killing, raping, torturing and starving the Ukrainian civilian population and forcibly transferring children from the Donbass region to Russia. It is enough to remember the horrible images of Bucha, Irpin, Kramatorsk and Mariupol.
On April 12, 2022, President Joe Biden said this to the American people: “Your family budget, your ability to fill your tank, none of that should depend on a dictator declaring war and committing genocide on other side of the world. »
It was the first time since Russia launched its genocidal war against Ukraine that the President of the United States declared that the atrocities uncovered in Ukraine qualified as “genocide”.
The US President later explained that he had “called it a genocide because it has become increasingly clear that Putin is simply trying to eliminate even the idea of being Ukrainian”, adding that “the evidence is piling up”.
Russian authorities and forces are indeed trying to eliminate even the idea of being Ukrainian, which stems from Putin’s denial of the very existence of the Ukrainian people as a whole.
For example, on July 12, 2021, in an article titled On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians, Putin wrote: “When I was asked about Russian-Ukrainian relations, I said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people – one whole. These comments were not motivated by short-term considerations or motivated by the current political context. That’s what I’ve said many times and what I firmly believe. »
Incredibly, according to Putin’s version of the story: “The name ‘Ukraine’ was more often used in the sense of the old Russian word ‘okraina’ [périphérie] […], referring to various border territories. And the word “Ukrainian” […] originally referred to the border guards who protected the external borders. »
Putin and the Kremlin are obviously aware of the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people and, through their conduct, condone such acts of savagery and ensure that Russian forces perpetuate them.
This overwhelming evidence shows that Russia is committing acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Ukrainian people.
This constitutes “genocide”, under the UN Genocide Convention.
The international community must recognize this genocide and react accordingly. The Parliament of Canada has set a good example for other parliaments to follow.
* Ukraine-2050 is a non-profit organization established to help implement within a generation – by 2050 – strategies for the sustainable development of Ukraine as a fully independent, territorially integral, democratic, European state. reformed and economically competitive.