The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: An International Law Perspective

Introduction

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Thus began an armed conflict that has resulted in the severe loss of lives, the displacement of individuals, destruction of property, and massive loss of resources in Ukraine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in breaches to international law, specifically the 1949 Geneva conventions. International law does play a significant role in this specific armed conflict, which in multiple ways has violated international law. Although the armed conflict has received wide scale international disapproval, it is international law and institutions of international law that play a major role in formalizing mechanisms that can minimize the unprecedented damage suffered by Ukraine. This paper will focus mainly on international humanitarian law as a branch of international law. There will be a primary analysis of three specific issues as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict- namely, sexual and gender-based violence against women, the vulnerability of Ukrainian children, and the crash of Ukraine's public health system. This paper will utilize international humanitarian law as a lens to analyze how the International Criminal Court and humanitarian aid in particular are important functions of international humanitarian law, particularly in the case of the three issues mentioned above. Thus, the importance of international law and its role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis will be discussed in terms of the role of international law in regulating the 2022 Ukraine and Russia crisis.

The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Through the Lens of International Law

International law has an undeniably important role in analyzing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With Russia's declaration of war began the multiple attacks on Ukrainian cities through missile and shelling attacks. This specific armed conflict has specifically affected civilians in eastern Ukraine to a large extent. The hostilities between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces has resulted in an international armed conflict. And much like any other armed conflict, this war is governed by international humanitarian law, which is a branch of international law. These specific laws are seen primarily in "the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its first additional protocol of 1977 (Protocol I), and the Hague Conventions of 1907" which regulate the procedures of hostilities. Considering that both Ukraine and Russia are member parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Protocol I, these frameworks of international law are important for regulating the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Firstly, international humanitarian law seeks to protect civilians and noncombatants from the tragedies of warfare. As the law with rules that regulate armed conflicts, international humanitarian law emphasizes that both parties of the conflict must differentiate between civilians and combatants at any given moment. Civilians must never be deliberately targeted by belligerent groups, and any necessary precaution must be taken to minimize harm to the civilian population and civilian objects.

The rules of international humanitarian law also include the protection of "civilian objects", which is considered to be anything that is not seen as a military objective. As such, schools, homes, hospitals, cultural monuments, places of worship, and businesses etc, are prohibited as targets unless military forces are deployed specifically in these areas - where they are being used for military purposes. However, when there is doubt about whether an object is civilian or military, one must assume that it is civilian. Thus, parties to an armed conflict must always direct their attacks at specific military objectives, and only use weapons that can be directed at specific military objectives. The principle of proportionality must also never be violated. This refers to when an attack is expected to inflict damage on civilian objects or cause civilian deaths that would be immoderate compared to the anticipated military advantage.

An example of attacks that can be indiscriminate and disproportionate include the bombing and shelling of villages, towns, and cities. These attacks cause the death and injuring of a large number of civilians, and causes psychological harm. The reverberating effects include damage to infrastructure, health care systems, education, and displacement of civilians. Due to the large blast radius, delivery of multiple ammunition, and possible inaccuracies, the humanitarian risks are exacerbated by these explosive weapons- and as such, the Human Rights Watch has called for parties to avoid the use of such weapons especially in widely populated areas. However, statistics show that merely a week after Russia began its attacks on Ukraine, more than 1, 500 civilian objects have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 900 civilians have been killed, including children. Government officials from Ukraine have stated that more than sixty schools have been damaged by shelling attacks from Russian armed forces in the Kharkiv region alone. The United Nations High Commissioner stated that the real damage and death toll is likely higher. This is likely due to the unparalleled speed of the attacks and destruction caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which makes it hard for official reports to be written with complete accuracy.

Due to the unprecedented damage that sprung merely weeks after the Russian attacks began, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has opened formal investigations looking into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia against Ukraine. While Ukraine and Russia are not members of the International Criminal Court, Ukraine accepted the ICC's jurisdiction in 2013 over possible crimes committed within Ukrainian territory. Thus, Ukraine has an obligation to cooperate with the ICC. However, the ICC is considered a court of the last resort in international criminal law. Therefore, Ukraine may conduct investigations and prosecutions domestically that complement that of the ICC.

A very important rule of international humanitarian law is that both parties to a conflict such as Russia and Ukraine, must facilitate and allow passage for humanitarian aid to be distributed to the needed population. Thus, while the consent for relief operations must be given by the parties, there cannot be any arbitrary refusal of consent. Thus, international humanitarian law is an international legal framework. Oftentimes, when humanitarian access is blocked, the international legal framework can ensure humanitarian access. This is because the legal framework states the obligations and rights of the belligerent parties, non-participants to the conflict, as well as humanitarian actors. It also states when humanitarian actors may gain access to populations in need of aid. Therefore, the legal framework provides objective rules that different parties concerned with the Russia-Ukraine conflict may refer to when dealing with the very important need for humanitarian access. This showcases how the international legal framework in general is essential specifically for civilians in Ukraine, as they face multiple human rights violations that will be discussed below.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against Women

The first issue refers to the exacerbation of sexual and gender-based violence against women in Ukraine due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Wars have been gendered for centuries, and this results in men traditionally being killed in the battlefield, while women's bodies are defiled during wars. Outbreaks of conflict have repeatedly led to women's increased susceptibility to war crimes, specifically various forms of gender-based violence, rape, trafficking, and arbitrary killings. Unfortunately, the conflict in Ukraine shows no exception to the sexual and gender-based violence faced by women during times of war.

Due to the conflict, many women have fled Ukraine as refugees seeking shelter in neighboring states. For women who are unable to flee, the danger of rape by Russian soldiers is high. Historical wartime reports have shown that Russian soldiers have a history of targeting women for rape. There are reports concerning 25 teenage girls who were gang raped in a basement in Bucha, nine of whom were reported pregnant due to the rapes. Furthermore, rape has also been used under the masculine construct to send a message to Ukranian men that they are powerless to protect their women. This confirms the gendered nature of war as rape is used by Russian soldiers as an intentional weapon to display their power over Ukranian women who are raped, and Ukranian men who are powerless to stop this form of violence.

Even for Ukranian women who manage to flee to bordering countries as rape survivors, they are still at risk of HIV, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and internal physical injuries- all of which require access to specialised medical assistance and sufficient health care which are not avaliable to these women in the refugee context. Furthermore, the risk of rape is not significantly reduced for women who manage to flee Ukraine. Women face the high possibility of sexual exploitation or rape during the transit process. Women are reportedly lured or forced to trade sex for shelter, food, or safety. There is also risk of sexual assault by aid workers or those pretending to be aid works. Unfortunately, given the extremity of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is very hard for prosecutors to have confirmed reports of every instance of rape or sexual assault. Due to this, many rape victims who flee to places such as Poland (out of 3.5 million UKranian refugees), do not gain access to abortion in the case of pregnancy by rape, because abortion is only permitted if the rape is confirmed by a prosecutor. Therefore, their access to human rights and basic health care has been tarnished by the events of the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

International law comes into play, as the International Criminal Court dives deep into investigations concerning crimes committed that may fall under the ICC's jurisdiction. "The Rome Statute contains provisions for sexual violence as war crimes (Art. 8(2)(b)(xxii)) and crimes against humanity (Art. 7(1)(g))". Furthermore, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC has committed to including a gender-perspective in the International Criminal Court investigations. This perspective will recognize sexual and gender-based crimes as a very serious and grave crime amongst the Statute- and it will recognize the importance of closing the impunity gap as these crimes have always traditionally been under-prosecuted. By implementing this possibility, the hope is that the ICC can then ensure accountability for Ukrainian women who've been raped by Russian soldiers. If international humanitarian law emphasizes the gendered component through the ICC's prosecutions and sentencing, hopefully domestic prosecutions in Ukraine will also seek to close the impunity gap concerning crimes of sexual and gender-based violence against women. Thus, the hope is that international humanitarian law in effective practice will act as a deterrent to these crimes in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Vulnerability of Ukrainian Children

The second issue addressed in this paper is the suffering that the war in Ukraine has brought to hundreds of thousands of children. Children in Ukraine are currently in desperate need for humanitarian support. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that over 58 children have lost their lives, while over 68 have been injured since 16, March - not excluding that these reports are not a reflection of the actual numbers which are likely much higher and will increase as the war continues. A maternity hospital was struck on 9 March, leaving mothers and young children buried under the rubble of tarnished buildings. This is just one tragic example of how the war has taken an unprecedented toll on children who've faced death, injury, or displacement. With the toll on Ukraine's health care and services, Ukrainian children are in desperate need for humanitarian aid as they do not have access to sufficient water and sanitation, protection, education, and health and nutrition etc. Furthermore, these children are exposed to traumatic events without access to the right psychosocial care according to UNICEF reports.

UNICEF has played a major role in facilitating humanitarian aid to children in Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Under international humanitarian law, access is allowed for humanitarian aid as long as the principles of international humanitarian law are followed by all relevant parties. As such, UNICEF has been able to provide humanitarian aid to children in various sectors- health, social protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, and child protection. In total, over 66 million dollars has been received by Ukraine for humanitarian aid purposes, and additional supplies and funds are being gathered as the number of Ukrainian child refugees exceeds the 1 million mark. However, despite the coordination and support of many nations and humanitarian groups in aid of Ukraine, UNICEF still lacks a significant amount of required funds to carry out the entirety of their humanitarian aid projects- there is a shortage of over 200 million dollars. The situation was discussed at a UN Security Council meeting where the rapidly worsening situation in Ukraine was addressed by the UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell. The complexities of the operating environment in Ukraine was discussed. The rapidly changing frontlines and constraints to access make the delivery of critical supplies and services for Ukrainian children more difficult. Furthermore, the safety and wellbeing of humanitarian works is also at question during the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Thus, UNICEF renewed their call for immediate suspension of military actions in Ukraine, emphasizing the need for peace to end the suffering of Ukrainian children. This indicates that while humanitarian aid is vital under the principles of international humanitarian law, it is a temporary solution that can only do so much in times of grave conflict.

Crash of Public Health

The third issue that will be touched on sheds light on the crash of Ukraine's public health system since the unprovoked attacks by Russia. The conflict emerged unscathed on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic that is still ongoing. Amongst those affected by the pandemic, European countries have proved to be some of the worstly affected, with governments struggling to regain their public finances. With the Russian invasion, "substantial resources in Europe are now being understandably diverted to bolster defenses". As a result, Ukraine's public health has taken a massive hit, and is facing great pressures.

Due to the reckless destruction of civilian objects, the shortage of supplies that are essential such as oxygen, as well as the displacement of health workers, the ability for Ukraine's health system to meet the needs of the Ukrainian population have become impossible. The demand for health services has rapidly increased with the steep number of casualties caused by Russian attacks on largely populated areas, along with the needs of the injured and those in chronic conditions.

UNICEF estimates that there are over five million Ukrainians, including children (both in Ukraine and who've fled as refugees) requiring urgent humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, women who've faced violence in terms of sexual assault and rape require access to medical and psychosocial resources which Ukraine's public health system is unable to provide. Thus, public health is essential in order to tackle the two previously mentioned issues -namely, sexual and gender based violence against women, and the vulnerability of Ukrainian children in the war context. However, over 256 public health facilities have been destroyed in the Ukraine by Russian armed forces, with no proof suggesting that these infrastructures were military objectives. Therefore, due to such tragedies that are piling on as the war continues, Ukraine is unable to provide the necessary public health services to children, women, and other civilians. The UN has reiterated the call for full humanitarian service, so that humanitarian workers can reach those in need as quickly as possible. Belligerent parties are obligated under international law to allow and facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid under most circumstances. As such, international humanitarian law has paved the way for UNICEF and partners to already distribute life-saving medical and health-supplies for over 2 million people in Ukraine's war affected areas. This reconfirms the importance of the legal framework of international humanitarian law which assists in the facilitation of humanitarian aid, which is essential in times of war. Humanitarian aid, coupled with the International Criminal Court's investigations into war crimes etc, represents international law at the forefront of regulating the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Conclusion

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has brought forth many questions of international law violations, including violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, public health in Ukraine has collapsed, and multiple human rights violations have been faced by Ukranian women facing sexual and gender based violence, and vulnerable children without access to protection and necessary needs. International humanitarian law steps into the picture as the International Criminal Court provides prosecutory provisions that accept sexual and gender based violence as one of the gravest crimes under its statute. Furthermore, international humanitarian law's international legal framework provides objective rules that facilitate humanitarian aid for Ukrainian people in desperate need in the war context. Thus, while there are many complications in the process of making international humanitarian law effective in the war context, it is vital for the regulation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the minimization of possible future tragedies that may happen. (2784)

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