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Downing of Malaysian Plane May Be a ‘War Crime,’ U.N. Rights Official Says Fighting Again Forces International Team in Ukraine to Retreat
(about 2 hours later)
LONDON — The downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner in eastern Ukraine may amount to a war crime, a high-ranking United Nations official said Monday in a statement that chronicled a mounting death toll from “extremely alarming” clashes in regions controlled by pro-Moscow separatists and blamed the rebels for imposing a “reign of fear and terror.” SHAKHTYORSK, Ukraine — An international delegation of European monitors and police officials seeking access to the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was again forced to retreat in eastern Ukraine on Monday as artillery duels blocked the route to the crash site.
The assessment by Navi Pillay, the United Nations’ top human rights official, added a further dimension to the charged debate over the crash of the Boeing 777-200 that has provoked Western moves to tighten sanctions against Russia. The setback in efforts to secure the site, to recover any further bodies and to begin an independent investigation came as a senior United Nations official said the downing of the Boeing 777-200 on July 17 may constitute a war crime.
“This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime,” Ms. Pillay said. At the same time, the official, Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, offered a grim confirmation of the mounting tensions in eastern Ukraine. She said the death toll since mid-April from “extremely alarming” clashes in regions controlled by pro-Moscow separatists was more than 1,100, and blamed the rebels for imposing a “reign of fear and terror.”
While she did not ascribe blame, she referred to “the horrendous shooting down” of the airplane and warned that “every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law, including war crimes, will be brought to justice, no matter who they are.” “This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime,” Ms. Pillay said, referring to the downing of the Malaysian airliner. She did not ascribe blame.
Ms. Pillay, who is based in Geneva, made her remarks as monitors for the United Nations issued a fourth monthly report on the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The plane fell from the sky over eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 people aboard. Ukrainian and American officials say a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by separatist rebels brought down the jetliner. The Kremlin and the rebels have denied the accusation, blaming Ukraine for the crash.
The report said that although “casualty figures are hard to gauge reliably,” the best available estimates show that at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded since mid-April. Those figures were based partly on “conservative” estimates by the 39-member United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and by the World Health Organization, the statement said. In a development likely to fuel further recriminations between Ukraine and its Western backers on one side and the rebels and their Russian supporters on the other, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said that an analysis of the airliner’s flight recorders showed that shrapnel from a rocket blast had caused “massive explosive decompression.”
In the latest fighting over the weekend, at least eight civilians were killed in the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, news reports said on Monday. It was not clear how that interpretation had been made known to officials in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, because the flight recorders are being examined in Britain. But Mr. Lysenko’s remarks were in line with other Western accounts and earlier independent analysis of wreckage from the plane showing signs of shrapnel.
Fighting in the area forced a convoy of 20 cars carrying Dutch and Australian police officers on Monday to the site of the crash to turn back for a second day, according to news reports. The police officers were hoping to secure the area to permit the recovery of any further bodies and facilitate an international investigation. In Moscow on Monday, however, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, repeated Moscow’s call for the United States to release whatever evidence it had to back up the accusation that the plane was brought down by a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.
The airliner fell from the sky over eastern Ukraine on July 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 people aboard. Ukrainian and American officials say a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by separatist rebels brought down the jetliner. The Kremlin and the rebels have denied the accusation, blaming Ukraine for the crash.
In Moscow on Monday, the foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, repeated a Russian call for the United States to release whatever proof it had to back up the accusation that the plane was brought down by a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.
“We do not understand why the Americans, who say that they have strong evidence to support their accusation, why they do not show that evidence,” he said at an hourlong news conference.“We do not understand why the Americans, who say that they have strong evidence to support their accusation, why they do not show that evidence,” he said at an hourlong news conference.
Mr. Lavrov also said that the United Nations should guarantee security at the crash site, and called on Ukraine to respect a United Nations Security Council resolution on July 21 that called on all parties to refrain from any action that would complicate the investigation. Mr. Lavrov also said that the United Nations should guarantee security at the crash site, and he called on Ukraine to respect a United Nations Security Council resolution on July 21 that called on all parties to refrain from any action that would complicate the investigation.
In her account, Ms. Pillay said: “The reports of increasingly intense fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are extremely alarming, with both sides employing heavy weaponry in built-up areas, including artillery, tanks, rockets and missiles.” In Ukraine, a large delegation of European monitors and unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers drove from the provincial capital, Donetsk, toward the crash site on Monday. Though several forensic experts accompanied the group, the intention was to test the safety of the access route for larger groups of investigators who are seeking to recover bodies and evidence.
Separatist fighters driving commandeered Ukrainian police cars drove in front, sirens flashing, followed by Organization for Security and Cooperation vehicles and a car carrying the head of the Dutch and Australian police contingents.
Separatists at checkpoints waved the cars through. But at Shakhtyorsk the group stopped for a time, while artillery explosions could be heard on the road ahead. The convoy inched forward again but then turned back before reaching the crash site because of the danger.
The episode reflected the perils confronting both Ukrainians in the region and outsiders seeking to gain access to it.
In a report issued in Geneva, monitors for the United Nations said on Monday that although “casualty figures are hard to gauge reliably,” the best available estimates show that at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded since mid-April.
Those figures were based partly on “conservative” estimates by the 39-member United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and by the World Health Organization, the report said.
In the latest fighting over the weekend, at least eight civilians were killed in the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, news reports said on Monday.
In her account of the fighting, Ms. Pillay said: “The reports of increasingly intense fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are extremely alarming, with both sides employing heavy weaponry in built-up areas, including artillery, tanks, rockets and missiles.”
“Both sides must take great care to prevent more civilians from being killed or injured,” she added. “Already increasing numbers of people are being killed with serious damage to civilian infrastructure, which — depending on circumstances — could amount to violations of international humanitarian law. The fighting must stop.”“Both sides must take great care to prevent more civilians from being killed or injured,” she added. “Already increasing numbers of people are being killed with serious damage to civilian infrastructure, which — depending on circumstances — could amount to violations of international humanitarian law. The fighting must stop.”
The report also noted a sharp increase in human rights abuses in the east of the country, including abductions, detentions and the disappearance and killing of journalists. The latest United Nations report also noted a sharp increase in human rights abuses in the east of the country, including abductions, detentions and the disappearance and killing of journalists.
Apparently referring to pro-Russian separatists, the statement by Ms. Pillay’s organization quoted the report as saying that “a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror have been inflicted by armed groups on the population of eastern Ukraine.”Apparently referring to pro-Russian separatists, the statement by Ms. Pillay’s organization quoted the report as saying that “a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror have been inflicted by armed groups on the population of eastern Ukraine.”
The groups were held responsible for abducting, detaining, torturing and executing hostages to intimidate the civilian population and “to exercise their power over the population in raw and brutal ways.”The groups were held responsible for abducting, detaining, torturing and executing hostages to intimidate the civilian population and “to exercise their power over the population in raw and brutal ways.”
“Well organized and well equipped militarily, these armed groups have intensified their challenge to the government of Ukraine,” the report was quoted as saying. “In response, there has been an acceleration of government security operations during July in the areas still under the control of the armed groups, with heavy fighting located in and around population centres, resulting in loss of life, property and infrastructure and causing thousands to flee.” “Well organized and well equipped militarily, these armed groups have intensified their challenge to the government of Ukraine,” the report was quoted as saying. “In response, there has been an acceleration of government security operations during July in the areas still under the control of the armed groups, with heavy fighting located in and around population centers, resulting in loss of life, property and infrastructure and causing thousands to flee.”
The report said more than 100,000 people had fled combat zones and sought refuge in other parts of Ukraine.The report said more than 100,000 people had fled combat zones and sought refuge in other parts of Ukraine.
Since mid-April, it said, 812 people had been abducted or detained by rebels acting with impunity, leading to “the collapse of the rule of law.”Since mid-April, it said, 812 people had been abducted or detained by rebels acting with impunity, leading to “the collapse of the rule of law.”
“Some of those detained by the armed groups are local politicians, public officials and employees of the local coal mining industry; the majority are ordinary citizens, including teachers, journalists, members of the clergy and students,” the report said.“Some of those detained by the armed groups are local politicians, public officials and employees of the local coal mining industry; the majority are ordinary citizens, including teachers, journalists, members of the clergy and students,” the report said.
It added that there had been reports of detentions by Ukrainian government forces and “some cases of Ukrainian nationals who allegedly have been taken and are currently detained in the Russian Federation on various charges.”It added that there had been reports of detentions by Ukrainian government forces and “some cases of Ukrainian nationals who allegedly have been taken and are currently detained in the Russian Federation on various charges.”
The report also spoke of alleged executions, saying documents recovered by a journalist after rebels retreated from Slovyansk on July 5 included so-called execution orders signed by the separatists’ commander.
The crisis in eastern Ukraine has drawn an array of reciprocal threats and accusations between Moscow and the West.
On Sunday, the Obama administration stepped up its pressure on Moscow, as the State Department presented intelligence images as evidence that Russian forces had fired across the border.On Sunday, the Obama administration stepped up its pressure on Moscow, as the State Department presented intelligence images as evidence that Russian forces had fired across the border.
On Monday, Mr. Lavrov responded with an accusation of his own. If the United States and other allies of Kiev were concerned about cross-border incidents, Mr. Lavrov told reporters, they should have agreed weeks ago to station monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at two border crossings.On Monday, Mr. Lavrov responded with an accusation of his own. If the United States and other allies of Kiev were concerned about cross-border incidents, Mr. Lavrov told reporters, they should have agreed weeks ago to station monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at two border crossings.
“That would prevent the rumors that those checkpoints are used to transport weapons and people from Russia to Ukraine,” Mr. Lavrov said, noting that the plan to monitor two crossings is now proceeding. Critics have said that monitoring just two border stations is insufficient.
As to suggestions that the images show Russian weapons firing into Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov said, “Let the experts deal with them.”As to suggestions that the images show Russian weapons firing into Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov said, “Let the experts deal with them.”
Mr. Lavrov also addressed the possibility of new, stronger European economic sanctions against Russia coming as soon as Tuesday, saying that while he did not welcome such measures, he did not think that Europeans in particular wanted to impose them.
“We do not want to act tit-for-tat,” he said, adding that he was sure Russia could overcome any economic difficulties caused by the sanctions. “Maybe we will be even more independent and more confident in our own course,” he said.
Mr. Lavrov said he wished the United States and the Europeans would call for a cease-fire in Ukraine with the same fervor with which they are demanding one in Gaza. Several times during the news conference, he listed what he indicated were missed opportunities by Kiev’s Western allies to use diplomatic means to resolve the crisis, starting in February.