All news

Kremlin chides International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Committee as unviable entity

The Russian Federation has had no representative on this commission for many years, the Kremlin spokesman said

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday blasted the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission tasked with investigating alleged serious violations of humanitarian law during international armed conflicts as ‘unviable’.

Thus, the spokesman substantiated the decision by lower house of parliament, the State Duma, to pass a presidential bill to recall the statement, accompanying the ratification of an amendment protocol (Protocol I) to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, regarding the protection of victims of international armed conflicts.

"Yes, indeed, our experts had recommended this position," Peskov said. "The matter is that for many years, the Russian Federation has had no representative on this commission, and the Russian Federation could not take whatever part in the activity of that commission, in determining certain criteria, and so forth. In fact, this commission is an unviable agency, and hence this decision was made," Peskov explained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma on October 17, which revokes a statement accompanying the ratification of an amendment protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I).

An international fact-finding commission was set up based on Article 90 of Protocol I in order to establish facts and "investigate alleged serious violations of humanitarian law during international armed conflicts, and provide good offices to facilitate the restoration of respect for the Geneva Conventions," an explanatory note says.

The commission "has in fact been failing to carry out its functions since 1991," there is no Russian representative in it, the document adds. "At the same time, Russia continues to make annual contributions to the commission’s budget. That said, maintaining the recognition of the commission’s purview seems unreasonable. Besides, given the current international situation, the risks of abusing the commission’s authority on the part of malevolent countries significantly increase," the note emphasized.

According to the document, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union ratified Protocol I on August 4, 1989, stating that the USSR recognized the commission’s purview with regard to any country that made the same commitments. "Since the statement on the commission’s competence was made in the form of the Supreme Council’s ruling, it should be revoked by a federal law," the note explained.