A group of 33 legal scholars and genocide experts on May 27 released a report accusing Russia of incitement to genocide in Ukraine, and calling on the international community to prevent a genocide from occurring. The report, released by the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy n Washington DC and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal, used "open-source evidence" to assert that Russia has breached the UN Genocide Convention, a treaty to which Russia and Ukraine are both parties.

The report is broken down into sections detailing Russian incitement to genocide, genocidal intent, and a "genocidal pattern of destruction targeting Ukrainians." Among other evidence, the authors cite denial of "the legitimacy of a distinct Ukrainian identity to the Russian public," efforts to label Ukrainians as "Nazis," and the many allegations of war crimes against civilians carried out by Russian forces. The authors' note that Russia's 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was publicly celebrated in Russia after being accused of mass killings in Bucha, Kyiv oblast.

The authors further note that every state party to the Genocide Convention has a legal obligation to prevent genocide in Ukraine.

Russia has been accused of numerous crimes against Ukranian civilians. On May 7, Amnesty International released a report which detailed their findings of Russian war crimes in Kyiv oblast.

The Genocide Convention has been a point of contention since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 26. Ukraine filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asserting that Russian claims of "genocide" in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were illegitimate, and that Russia should be obligated to halt its invasion. The ICJ ruled on March 16 that Russia must halt its invasion, but Russia failed to follow the court's order.

From Jurist, May 27. Used with permission.

Both the International Criminal Court and UN Human Rights Council have opened investigations into possible war crimes in Ukraine.