'Minsk Agreement Legally Binding By Virtue Of Security Council Resolution'- Humanitarian Law Expert
Humanitarian law expert Mykola Gnatovskyy discusses the legality of the Minsk Agreements, court cases surrounding the MH17 tragedy and accusations of human rights abuses on Ukrainian—government controlled territory
What You Need To Know:
✅ Over two years have passed since the first Minsk Agreement was signed. Despite this, the deal has yet to be implemented fully.
✅ The Minsk II accords have been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council
✅ MH17 investigations: “National prosecution is the most likely solution;”
✅ Gnatovskyy believes that proper and effective investigations into allegations of ill-treatment and torture should occur from within Ukraine.
Over two years have passed since the first Minsk Agreement was signed. However, the deal has yet to be implemented fully. While many are not satisfied with the peace accords aimed at bringing peace to eastern Ukraine, Mykola Gnatovskyy, an expert on humanitarian law and the president of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture says Minsk II has been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council: “They are legally binding by virtue of the Security Council Resolution.”
Investigations into MH17 are ongoing, says Gnatovskyy, but there is no progress when it comes to international legal responsibility. “National prosecution is the most likely solution,” he says, but the results might take years.
In terms of alleged secret prisons and human rights abuses in Ukraine, Gnatovskyy says that the situation is extremely complicated in the country. He believes that proper and effective investigations into allegations of ill-treatment and torture should occur from within Ukraine: “It should all start at home…those should be investigated domestically."
Hromadske’s Nataliya Gumenyuk spoke to Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture in October 2016 in Kyiv.