The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 August 2026.
Statement by Ambassador Kate Foster, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Arria meeting on Implementing international humanitarian law: prisoners of war, civilian detainees and foreign fighters, in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The United Kingdom remains deeply concerned by reports of systematic ill-treatment of prisoners of war, civilian detainees, and vulnerable foreign nationals by Russian authorities, as they pursue their full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
I also want to thank the briefers for joining us today to share their testimony and expertise.
International humanitarian law and international human rights law are clear.
Prisoners of war and civilian detainees must be treated humanely.
Torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and arbitrary deprivation of life are prohibited.
These are not optional standards.
They are binding obligations.
That is why UN reporting and the testimony that we will hear today is so concerning.
UN reporting has documented arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture of civilian detainees by Russian authorities and armed forces in areas under their control.
It has also raised concerns that civilians appeared to have been used as bargaining chips in exchanges, amounting to hostage-taking which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
The evidence on prisoners of war is equally troubling.
UN reporting has documented a systematic, widespread, and consistent pattern of torture and ill-treatment amongst Ukrainian prisoners of war released from Russian captivity.
According to the OHCHR, 96% of released Prisoners of War provided accounts of torture or ill-treatment.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has documented accounts of stress positions, electric shocks, suffocation, and mock executions.
Wider reporting, including by the Moscow Mechanism, echoes these accounts.
It has noted that this conduct may amount to widespread and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
They also document the denial of right to fair trial, unsafe detention and transfer conditions, and arbitrary killings.
We are also concerned by findings of the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine on the deceptive and coercive recruitment of foreign nationals to fight with Russian forces.
This has affected many countries globally.
The Commission’s investigations involving nationals from 17 countries documented instances in which individuals were deceived or lured from abroad through promises of civilian work, transported to Russia, pressed into military contracts they did not understand, and deployed to hazardous frontline duties.
Findings report their mistreatment and lasting trauma.
Russia is bound by the same rules as every other state engaged in conflict.
Russia has a responsibility to ensure prisoners of war and civilian detainees are treated humanely, under the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions.
The United Kingdom calls on Russia to end these practices, to allow meaningful international monitoring, facilitate exchanges and family contact, and comply fully with its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Colleagues, the issues that we will hear about today are yet another consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
So I urge Russia to commit to a comprehensive ceasefire and engage in negotiations for a just and lasting peace.