Human rights activist: The drafting of Crimeans into the Russian army is classified as a war crime
In September, the UN reminded Russia through its report that, according to Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying state is prohibited from coercing protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. Pressure and propaganda in favor of voluntary entry into the army are also prohibited, writes Ukrainian human rights activist Mykola Mirnyj in his article for ZN.UA. The author notes that transferring citizens of Ukraine to serve in the regions of Russia also violates Article 49 of this convention.
"According to Ukrainian legislation, citizens who now live in occupied Crimea are still citizens of Ukraine, even if they were forced to take Russian passports," explains the Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Olha Skrypnik. The recruitment of Crimeans into the Russian Armed Forces and their removal from the Crimea are separate war crimes for the International Criminal Court.
Anton Korinevich, Candidate of Juridical Sciences of the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University states that Ukrainian authorities must collect evidence of these cases. "Ukraine and Ukrainian human rights activists should look for as many facts as possible about the draft and send them to the International Criminal Court, which will show the Hague Tribunal that it is indeed a war crime and that the court must use its jurisdiction over this crime," the Korinevich emphasized.