UN accuses Russia of at least 24 cluster bomb attacks in Ukraine

Geneva, Mar 30 (EFE).- The Russian army has used banned cluster bombs against populated areas of Ukraine on at least 24 occasions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began over a month ago, indiscriminate attacks on hospitals, schools and other infrastructure have taken place, Michelle Bachelet said.

This kind of action is “prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,” Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use, development, manufacture and acquisition of these weapons due to their indiscriminate impact on civilians.

However, powers such as Russia, the United States and China have not yet ratified the treaty that came into force in 2010.

The UNHCR is also investigating complaints about the use of cluster bombs by the Ukrainian army, which has also not joined the convention, she said.

Bachelet’s office has confirmed the deaths of at least 1,189 civilians, including 108 children, in the conflict, although the actual death toll is feared to be higher.

The UN has verified at least 77 attacks on medical facilities, including 50 hospitals, and has seen a significant increase in the death rate among civilians in cities under siege.

Bachelet added that the UNHCR is also investigating allegations of forced movements of civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol to Russia or territories controlled by pro-Russian forces. EFE

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