{"id":38917,"date":"2026-10-26T21:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T20:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/?p=38917"},"modified":"2026-10-26T22:22:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T21:22:25","slug":"questions-about-russias-crimes-against-ukrainian-women-raised-during-un-cedaw-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/news\/breaking-news\/questions-about-russias-crimes-against-ukrainian-women-raised-during-un-cedaw-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions About Russia\u2019s Crimes Against Ukrainian Women Raised During UN CEDAW Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 26, 2026, an informal meeting between members of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and NGOs that had submitted reports on violations of women\u2019s rights by the Russian Federation took place in Geneva as part of the Committee\u2019s 93rd session. Representatives of the organizations that had prepared alternative reports delivered brief statements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Kateryna Buriakovska spoke on behalf of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and ADC Memorial Brussels. Among the documented crimes committed by the Russian military and occupation authorities, she highlighted attacks on hospitals and maternity wards, enforced disappearances, various forms of violence, including sexual violence, perpetrated in places of detention, and different forms of gender-based coercion and violence under occupation. These violations have been documented across numerous regions of Ukraine, as well as in detention facilities in Russia and Russian-controlled occupied territories, indicating deliberate and systematic actions rather than isolated incidents or unavoidable consequences of war:<\/p>\n

“I wish to highlight four patterns of violations documented in our submission.<\/p>\n

First, maternity healthcare.\u00a0We documented 34 incidents across 13 Ukrainian regions, including attacks involving precision-guided weapons and the forced removal of mothers and newborns from hospitals converted into military facilities. These incidents raise serious concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law, particularly the protection of medical facilities.<\/p>\n

Second, enforced disappearances.\u00a0We documented around 60 cases of missing women with indications of Russian involvement, including journalists, activists and healthcare workers. In one case, Russian authorities denied detaining a journalist despite video evidence of her arrest.<\/p>\n

Third, sexual violence.\u00a0Our 76 records represent only a fraction of the likely scale. They include rape, forced nudity, invasive searches and threats of sexual violence. We documented recurring patterns of such abuse across Russian detention facilities.<\/p>\n

Fourth, coercion under occupation.\u00a0Women face forced passportisation, prosecution for supporting Ukraine, forced displacement and threats involving their children. Our report documents mock execution of woman accompanied by threats to take away children, as well as cases of children transferred to Russia and not returned to their mothers.<\/p>\n

In our report, we show how these violations, documented across different regions of Ukraine and Russian controlled institutions, point to deliberate and systematic practices rather than isolated incidents or inevitable consequences of war.<\/p>\n

We urge the Committee to seek answers from Russia concerning these reported violations, to call upon effective investigations, accountability for perpetrators and remedies for victims.\u00a0Russia’s obligations under CEDAW do not disappear during occupation. Neither should Ukrainian women disappear from international scrutiny.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n