Through its aggressive war against Ukraine, Russia has violated numerous provisions of one of the OSCE's core documents—the Code of Conduct regarding military-political aspects of security.
This was stated by Ankur Narayan, the military-political adviser of the UK delegation to the OSCE, during the regular meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation on Wednesday in Vienna.
"The Code obliges us to act in solidarity if the norms and obligations of the OSCE are violated. As documented by the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism, ODIHR, and the UN, there is irrefutable independent evidence of Russia's violations of international law, including international humanitarian law. According to the Code, such violations are a 'direct and legitimate' concern for all of us," the British diplomat stated at the meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the OSCE Code of Conduct on military-political aspects of security.
He pointed out that Russia rejects the sovereign right of other states to choose their alliance treaties, which violates paragraph 11 of the Code. The imposition of military dominance by Russia over any other participating state constitutes a violation of paragraph 13. Additionally, Russia violated paragraph 14 of the OSCE Code of Conduct by placing its armed forces on the territories of other states, namely Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, without properly concluded agreements in accordance with international law.
In his speech, Narayan elaborated on Russia's violations of paragraphs 30, 31, and 34 of the Code, which "obligate states to ensure that their armed forces and security forces comply with international law." He highlighted three specific elements concerning attacks on critical civilian infrastructure ahead of winter, conflict-related sexual violence, and treatment of prisoners of war, referencing the findings of OSCE and UN missions regarding Russia's violations in Ukraine.
The British mission also emphasized that Belarus violated paragraph 8 of the OSCE Code of Conduct by becoming complicit in Russia's illegal full-scale invasion and supporting Russian armed forces by allowing them to use Belarusian territory for attacks on Ukraine.
"This is why we again demand that Russia fully and unconditionally withdraw its forces from all territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We call for an independent and impartial investigation into all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Victims deserve justice. And we will continue to work tirelessly with our international partners to achieve this," the military-political adviser of the UK delegation to the OSCE emphasized.
