conflict-related sexual violence

About 1,004 cases of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war have been documented since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with sexual violence used as part of a shocking pattern of torture, intimidation and coercion, the U.N. Human Rights Office said in a report published on Sept. 18.

The United Nations added Russian and Israeli military to its annual blacklist of parties credibly suspected of committing conflict-related sexual violence for the first time, ABC News reported on May 29.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion grinds into its fourth year, Ukraine’s push for justice is quietly gathering force—behind the front lines, in courtrooms and forensic labs, and within the country’s rapidly evolving legal system. Few understand that transformation better than Wayne Jordash KC, one of the world’s leading human rights lawyers and a key architect behind Ukraine’s war crimes prosecution strategy. In this interview, Jordash explains how Ukraine has overhauled its approach to atrocity investigations, why Russia’s sham trials of Ukrainian soldiers are themselves war crimes, and what still gives him hope in an age of rising authoritarianism.