In a letter sent to President Trump today, Amnesty International urged the Trump Administration to take concrete steps to protect and prioritize human rights in Ukraine and to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations and war crimes.
After nearly three years of all-out war against Ukraine and more than a decade of occupation of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine, the human costs of Russia’s aggression have been and continue to be catastrophic.
“The human rights violations against Ukrainians must stop,” said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. “The Trump administration has the opportunity and moral responsibility to ensure the human rights of civilians in Ukraine are protected. We hope that President Trump does everything he can – including demanding accountability for war crimes and other crimes under international law – to set Ukraine on a path to a more just and peaceful future.”
The letter, sent by Amnesty International USA and Amnesty International Ukraine, laid out numerous principles for the Trump Administration to adhere to in order to mitigate the suffering in Ukraine while also building a more stable region.
Top among these principles was for the United States to continue to condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which is a violation of the United Nations Charter and a crime under international law. Amnesty International also called for the United States to take leadership in asking for unimpeded access for independent humanitarian organizations operating in Russia and in occupied Ukrainian territory to monitor the treatment of POWs and civilian detainees and ultimately ensure that they are returned safely and voluntarily to their homes, in line with international law.
As Amnesty International has documented previously, Russian forces have deliberately targeted civilians. Older people have been disproportionately killed or injured, and numerous strikes have caused child casualties. In occupied Crimea, Russia has systematically disrupted, restricted, or banned the use of Ukrainian and Crimean Tartar languages, oppressed religious and cultural practices that do not conform to those endorsed by Moscow, and forcibly transferred Ukrainian residents out of Crimea and enabled Russian civilians to move in. In its letter to President Trump, the organization called on him to ensure that aid will reach at-risk groups, including children, the elderly and Indigenous people.
With over 6.8 million people forced to leave their homes in Ukraine, primarily seeking safety in European countries, Amnesty International also urged President Trump to provide support to countries taking in refugees. The organization also asked that President Trump maintain and extend Temporary Protected Status for those coming from Ukraine to the United States.
The letter also addressed the issue of landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war, which continue to pose a deadly threat to civilians, and asked President Trump to maintain long-term funding for, and ongoing implementation of, programs to clear Ukrainian land of those dangerous remnants.
The letter reiterated that President Trump has the opportunity and moral responsibility to ensure that human rights are at the top of the agenda for Ukraine.
“Countless Ukrainians under Russian occupation face unimaginable horrors,” said Veronika Velch, Director of Amnesty International Ukraine. “Many are killed, subjected to sham trials, tortured, and forced into labor. Thousands of prisoners of war and civilian detainees are held incommunicado and face enforced disappearance in Russian territory and in the occupied Ukrainian territories, in blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions. We urgently call for attention to their plight. While we endure daily shelling here in Ukraine, those living under occupation face greater vulnerability, and their rights must be prioritized.”
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