Erik Møse of Norway has been appointed as one of three independent members of the recently established Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
The other members are Jasminka Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pablo de Greiff of Colombia. Mr. Møse will serve as Chair of the Commission.
Erik Møse is a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and a former judge of the Supreme Court of Norway. He is an expert in international human rights law and international criminal law.
During an “urgent debate”, the Human Rights Council decided to establish an independent international commission of inquiry, comprising three experts appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council. The Commission of Inquiry was mandated to “investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”
The three-person Commission was further requested “to collect, consolidate and analyse evidence of such violations and abuses, including their gender dimension, and to systematically record and preserve all information, documentation and evidence, including interviews, witness testimony and forensic material, consistent with international law standards, in view of any future legal proceedings”.
To establish facts
The Commission, established for an initial duration of one year, was requested “to establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of any such violations and abuses” and to complement, consolidate and build upon the work of the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine in close coordination with the mission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The investigative body was also requested to identify, where possible, individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations and related crimes committed in Ukraine to ensure they are held accountable. It was mandated to make recommendations with a view to ending impunity and ensuring criminal responsibility, and access to justice for victims.
