Rockets on Ukraine not geopolitics – it’s people’s lives that are at stake, says Amnesty Ireland’s Colm O’Gorman
TO wake up yesterday morning to the words “rockets falling on Ukraine” is somehow a shock, despite the build up to this moment. Our worst fears have been realised.
Condemnations are rolling in and headlines around the world are dominated by this crisis.
What cannot be forgotten for a single second is that right now there are millions of people trapped in the middle.
This is potentially going to be a large-scale and utterly devastating human rights crisis and humanitarian catastrophe.
What we know right now is that rockets are falling on Ukrainian military bases, and the first reports are coming in of the use of indiscriminate weapons by the Russian army.
From early yesterday morning, reports have come in of troops crossing the border to the north and south, explosions in multiple cities including the capital Kyiv and rocket fire on in Kharkiv.
Imagine you are facing this. As of yesterday morning, the lives of you and your loved ones may well be in danger.
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Will you have to leave? Should you wait or can you even leave at all? What about friends and family who can’t leave?
Thousands of elderly people were not able to or chose not to flee in 2014 and faced incredible hardships on their own.
And what help will there be for you if you flee, because you might be one of millions?
In 2014-2015, the conflict in eastern Ukraine forced millions of people to leave their homes.
Those who returned or remain in the conflict zone have lived a hand-to-mouth existence since the region’s economy has been devastated.
Hundreds fell victim to extrajudicial executions, torture, abductions
and enforced disappearances, by separatist as well as government forces.
About 1.45 million people are still internally displaced within the country to this day.
It is frightening to imagine what scale the refugee crisis could reach now.
It will be a continent-wide humanitarian disaster with millions of refugees seeking protection in neighbouring European countries.
FEARS OVER SCALE OF REFUGEE CRISIS
Ukraine is also currently the destination for those seeking protection when fleeing from Russia, Belarus and Central Asian countries. Where will they go to seek refuge now?
And what about food, water, medical supplies, and other basic necessities?
Prices have already been rising for weeks because of the escalation in the conflict. This has especially impacted the very old, the very young, and those on low incomes.
If civilian infrastructure like shops, food production facilities, hospitals and factories are targeted by military, or shut down because people have fled, then we’re facing acute food shortages across the board and limited access to healthcare.
And it’s not just Russian forces that the civilians of Ukraine may have to contend with.
We’re also concerned by the prospect of the creation of new militias.
In 2014-2015, Russia-backed armed groups in Donbas were notorious for their disregard of the rules of international humanitarian law, as were the Ukrainian pro-government paramilitaries.
NO WINNERS IN INVASION
So we are again calling for civilian lives, homes and infrastructure to be protected.
Indiscriminate attacks and the use of banned weapons such as cluster munitions must not take place.
We will be monitoring the situation closely to expose violations of international law by all parties.
But it’s up to the international community to make sure there is full accountability for any war crimes committed.
We also call on all governments to provide for humanitarian aid and support, and repeat our call to allow and facilitate access for humanitarian agencies on the ground.
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Let us be clear. There will be no winners in this invasion. There will only be communities torn apart and lives destroyed, on all sides.
But there is still time to stop this if all world powers see the people caught in the middle and do everything they can to protect them.
