«THE WAGNER GROUP AS A CHALLENGE TO HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD: IN SEARCH OF A SOLUTION TO BRING TO JUSTICE»
The seventh panel discussion within the framework of the international conference «Crimea Global. Understanding Ukraine through the south» was dedicated to the topic of the Wagner Group as a challenge to human rights around the world: In search of a solution for accountability.
Before the main part of the discussion began, Olha Reshetylova, Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights and moderator of the discussion, invited Tatiana Katrychenko, Coordinator of the MHRI, to speak and provide an interim report on the activities of the Wagner Group during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ms. Katrychenko gave examples of war crimes committed by representatives of the Wagner Group not only against the Ukrainian military, but also against civilians. Ms. Katrychenko stressed that the Ukrainian side has direct evidence that the Wagner group tortured prisoners and killed them with particular cruelty, including by beheading. Ms Katrychenko stressed that the Wagner group is fully supported and funded by Russia. This fact is extremely important in the context of the fact that the Wagner Group committed crimes not only in Ukraine, but also killed and tortured civilians in the Global South.
The first speaker was Mazen Darwish, a representative of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, who initiated the case against the Wagner Group by joining the discussion online. Mr Darwish noted that the Wagnerites openly identify themselves as Russians, without hiding. The speaker also spoke about the crimes against civilians committed by the Wagner Group in Syria during Russia’s invasion, when Wagnerites massacred and tortured civilians in Aleppo in an attempt not only to inflict military defeat but also to cause internal displacement. Mr Darwish stressed that Russia denies any allegations of crimes committed by the Wagner Group, ignores the pre-trial investigation initiated against the Wagner Group, and spreads propaganda that portrays the Wagner Group as peacekeepers and freedom fighters.
Paul Koalaga, founder and executive director of the Institute for Strategy and International Relations (ISRI) from Burkina Faso, spoke to Umarou about the Wagner Group’s activities in Africa. Mr Koalaga noted that in Africa, Wagner’s supporters are also engaged in commercial activities, not just military ones, and are trying to take control of fields and enterprises. According to the speaker, a large number of coups d’état are taking place in the West African region, so this is an opportunity for the Wagner Group to get involved in war crimes in the region by supporting armed groups that seize power by military means.
Mr Koalaga explained that Russia is using the unstable situation in the region to support criminal regimes that do not want elections, as they understand that they will not be able to retain power. Russia offers its own threatening image to these countries in order to allegedly deter countries such as France, which are considered colonisers. At the same time, Russia is pursuing a colonising policy towards countries in the African region, grabbing their natural resources, without considering itself a coloniser. Mr. Koalaga stressed the need to overcome Russian propaganda in the region and recommended that democratic forces pay more attention to the creation of independent think tanks and media in the African region in order to provide wider coverage of the activities and issues of corrupt regimes.
Armando Armas, a Venezuelan lawyer, activist and politician, member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, shared his experience of exposing the activities of the Wagner Group in Venezuela. Mr Armas said that Russia maintained relations with Venezuela not only at the strategic but also at the tactical level. According to Mr Armas, the so-called «little green men« used by Russia in the seizure of Crimea have also been repeatedly spotted in Venezuela, as Russia sent unmarked soldiers, including Wagnerites, to support the local dictatorship. In addition, the speaker stressed that Russia is actively spreading its propaganda and disinformation in Venezuela, paying great attention to expanding its media outlets in the region.
Maksym Tymochko from the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine spoke about the current results of the discussion on the legal status of the Wagnerites, which has been ongoing in Ukraine since 2014, in the context of the issue of punishment for war crimes they have committed and continue to commit in different countries.
Mr Tymochko explained that according to the Geneva Convention, the Wagnerites can be considered combatants, as they are clearly controlled by the Russian armed forces in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Vladimir Putin has even publicly admitted that the Russian state financed the Wagner Group during the war with Ukraine. However, since the Wagnerites receive unofficial financial support from the Russian state budget, and the Wagner Group is not defined in Russian law, they can be considered mercenaries. According to international conventions, they are mercenaries when they organise coups d’état in African countries, because they are not citizens of these countries, and these coups are not wars in which Russia is officially involved. At the same time, as Mr Tymochko stressed, the Wagnerites can also be prosecuted as terrorists who have been repeatedly involved in terrorist acts and other crimes.
According to a representative of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government’s practice is to recognise them as combatants in order to use the Wagnerites for the exchange of prisoners of war with Russia. In parallel with the exchange process, war crimes investigations are being conducted into the Wagnerites, and Ukraine is bringing them to justice. To inform international partners about the realities, Ukraine labels them as terrorist fighters. As Maksym Tymochko concludes, the Wagnerites are de facto a network of organised groups operating around the world in the interests of the Russian state’s aggressive hybrid policy.
Dr Sorcha MacLeod, a human rights researcher who participated in the development of the Montreux Document and the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers, added several points to explain the problematic legal status of the Wagnerites. Ms MacLeod noted that, within the meaning of the Geneva Convention, due to their participation in the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Wagnerites can be considered mercenaries, as it is a war between two states. Moreover, mercenarism may be defined differently in the national legislation of different states than in the Convention. At the same time, the Wagnerites can be considered a proxy force in countries where the conflict looks like an internal one. Russia uses them as proxy forces precisely to avoid responsibility for its actions.
Dr MacLeod also said that the motivation to fight for such people is not only the pay, but also the ideas of neo-Nazism and Russia’s expansion into other countries. The Wagner Group recruits not only people with combat experience, but also those without. They recruit former prisoners, people from the occupied and war-torn territories.