Amnesty International has agreed to an external evaluation of its controversial statement in which it claimed that the Ukrainian Army endangers civilians by fighting in cities.
The statement had been condemned around the world and many had called upon Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, to resign.
External experts will thoroughly review the process, according to a statement by the organization, DPA reported.
Details on the process of the audit are to be determined by the Amnesty board next week, after the various national organisations have had a chance to give their input – including the Ukrainian branch, whose head Oksana Pokalchuk resigned in protest after the report was published.
“We want to understand what exactly went wrong and why, in order to learn lessons and improve our work in the field of human rights,” Amnesty International said, DW reported. The organization regrets that the press release devoted to the study was published without sufficient context. Due attention was not paid to Russian aggression in violation of international law and numerous war crimes committed by the Russian military and documented by Amnesty International, the human rights activists believe.
“The conclusions were not conveyed with the delicacy and accuracy that should be expected from Amnesty. This also applies to the subsequent communication and reaction of the International Secretariat to public criticism,” Amnesty International said. “We condemn the instrumentalization of the press release by the Russian authorities,” it added.
What’s wrong with Amnesty International’s conclusions that “Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians”
