Moscow Mechanism experts present findings to OSCE Permanent Council on Ukraine

The OSCE Moscow Mechanism mission of experts undertaken by Professor Veronika Bílková, Professor Laura Guercio and Professor Vasilka Sancin presented their findings to the OSCE Permanent Council on 14 July 2022, collected in the report entitled ‘Report on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Committed in Ukraine (1 April – 25 June 2022)’.

The three experts were selected after 45 OSCE participating States, following consultation with Ukraine, invoked the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism on 2 June to “consider, follow up and build upon the findings of the Moscow Mechanism report received by OSCE participating States on 12 April” addressing “the human rights and humanitarian impacts of the Russian Federation’s invasion and acts of war, supported by Belarus, on the people of Ukraine, within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and territorial waters”.

The Mechanism, agreed by all OSCE participating States, allows for one or more participating States to request that ODIHR “inquire of another participating State whether it would agree to invite a mission of experts to address a particular, clearly defined question on its territory relating to the human dimension”.

The Permanent Council is one of the OSCE’s main decision-making bodies, and convenes each week in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and make decisions on future activities.

The observations of the mission of experts are available here.