Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group (ULAG, Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group) is a public organization that deals with justice in the context of armed conflict. ULAG lawyers represent victims in national and international courts, carry out legal analysis, work with archives. Their work also involves advocacy, analytical and advisory activities. All in order to strengthen the justice system so that it is more capable of delivering justice for the most serious international crimes.
“We have several thematic areas. And one of the areas of our work is, in particular, the development of infrastructure, documenting, - explains Arye Mora, communication and advocacy manager of Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group. “That is, we strive to ensure that there is a normal infrastructure for the most serious international crimes in Ukraine: that people correctly collect, store and process information in accordance with international standards. It is important that this information can then be potentially used as evidence in court. We conduct cases, so to speak, strategic, that is, we represent the victims in order to also change the justice system and highlight certain problems through these cases. We are also talking about issues related to this architecture of justice, its standards, and we are also talking about compensation and reparations, etc.
Before the full-scale invasion, most of the cases conducted by ULAG lawyers were related to prisoners of war, after — the list expanded. In addition to prisoners of war, the NGO works with victims of sexual violence, the problem of deportation of Ukrainian children to the territory of the Russian Federation, murders and other crimes of Russians against civilians during the war.
Arie Mora says that there are basic rules, the observance of which significantly increases the reliability and subsequent usefulness of documented information in the establishment of justice.
Before delving into the basics of international criminal law, it is necessary to understand what is considered a war crime and what violations there are in the conditions of war. Although war itself is a terrible phenomenon, there are certain rules that are designed to reduce the number and extent of the tragic consequences of armed conflict.
“For example, shelling a residential building if civilians live there or could live there, and there is reliable information about it, is a violation. But shelling a residential building in which there is no one but the military may not be a violation. This can be a legitimate goal, because it is possible to attack the opposing party in accordance with international humanitarian law. There are many such rules, but there are the most common events that we face in the conditions of the war of Russia against Ukraine. Based on this, it is necessary to determine what exactly constitutes a crime, what and how it should be documented, in order to later prove this crime in court,” says Arie Mora.
When documenting the effects of shelling, it is worthwhile to record the rip and try to determine its volume or size. If there are remnants of weapons, be sure to pay attention to them too. Also, if the building was considered a protected object, that is, it could be an object of cultural heritage or, for example, a hospital, then take a picture of a plaque or some other aspect that could confirm it. “Such actions will help determine that the target of this attack was a protected object. Accordingly, he should not be attacked,” he said.
Arie Mora says that even a smartphone is enough to document — it can be used to make photos and videos that can be useful in court for data analysis: “Although this may not be the key evidence in court, such information can help establish the circumstances and provide more information for investigators or lawyers who will analyze the case.”
It is recommended to take a panoramic shot, as well as photos of the general, medium and close-up, in order to capture well both the overall picture and the object you need. It is also important with the help of photos to show the relation of the object to other objects and objects around, so that it is clear what happened on the spot. When documenting the consequences in video format, you should shoot smoothly, moving the camera slowly, so that the image is of high quality.
Arie Mora notes that these simple fixation basics help make the video or photo informative and can then be used when bringing the perpetrators to justice.
It is also important not to lose the collected material, so it is better to immediately save at least two copies of the original: in the cloud environment and on physical media.
“If you follow these guidelines, it is more likely that the information you pick up will be reliable, can be checked and related to other information. Your material will be informative and will contain exactly the information that will be important for the analysis of events,” says Arie Mora.
“Films such as “20 days in Mariupol”, are definitely important because it is information obtained in a unique way. That is, many did not have access to these events and, accordingly, it may simply be impossible to obtain this information in another way, - emphasizes Arie Mora. “From the point of view of justice, I believe that any such information, any such footage can help establish a picture of events and provide additional context.”
In addition, from the point of view of the establishment of justice, the award of the “Oscar” This tape is a great achievement, as it draws the attention of the whole world to the actions of the Russians in Mariupol. Aryeh hopes that, in particular, the public resonance will be able to contribute to the further creation of a coherent architecture of justice for the illegal actions of the occupiers during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vera Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group (ULAG, Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group) is a public organization that deals with justice in the context of armed conflict. ULAG lawyers represent victims in national and international courts, carry out legal analysis, work with archives. Their work also involves advocacy, analytical and advisory activities. All in order to strengthen the justice system so that it is more capable of delivering justice for the most serious international crimes.
“We have several thematic areas. And one of the areas of our work is, in particular, the development of infrastructure, documenting, - explains Arye Mora, communication and advocacy manager of Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group. “That is, we strive to ensure that there is a normal infrastructure for the most serious international crimes in Ukraine: that people correctly collect, store and process information in accordance with international standards. It is important that this information can then be potentially used as evidence in court. We conduct cases, so to speak, strategic, that is, we represent the victims in order to also change the justice system and highlight certain problems through these cases. We are also talking about issues related to this architecture of justice, its standards, and we are also talking about compensation and reparations, etc.
Before the full-scale invasion, most of the cases conducted by ULAG lawyers were related to prisoners of war, after — the list expanded. In addition to prisoners of war, the NGO works with victims of sexual violence, the problem of deportation of Ukrainian children to the territory of the Russian Federation, murders and other crimes of Russians against civilians during the war.
Arie Mora says that there are basic rules, the observance of which significantly increases the reliability and subsequent usefulness of documented information in the establishment of justice.
Before delving into the basics of international criminal law, it is necessary to understand what is considered a war crime and what violations there are in the conditions of war. Although war itself is a terrible phenomenon, there are certain rules that are designed to reduce the number and extent of the tragic consequences of armed conflict.
“For example, shelling a residential building if civilians live there or could live there, and there is reliable information about it, is a violation. But shelling a residential building in which there is no one but the military may not be a violation. This can be a legitimate goal, because it is possible to attack the opposing party in accordance with international humanitarian law. There are many such rules, but there are the most common events that we face in the conditions of the war of Russia against Ukraine. Based on this, it is necessary to determine what exactly constitutes a crime, what and how it should be documented, in order to later prove this crime in court,” says Arie Mora.
When documenting the effects of shelling, it is worthwhile to record the rip and try to determine its volume or size. If there are remnants of weapons, be sure to pay attention to them too. Also, if the building was considered a protected object, that is, it could be an object of cultural heritage or, for example, a hospital, then take a picture of a plaque or some other aspect that could confirm it. “Such actions will help determine that the target of this attack was a protected object. Accordingly, he should not be attacked,” he said.
Arie Mora says that even a smartphone is enough to document — it can be used to make photos and videos that can be useful in court for data analysis: “Although this may not be the key evidence in court, such information can help establish the circumstances and provide more information for investigators or lawyers who will analyze the case.”
It is recommended to take a panoramic shot, as well as photos of the general, medium and close-up, in order to capture well both the overall picture and the object you need. It is also important with the help of photos to show the relation of the object to other objects and objects around, so that it is clear what happened on the spot. When documenting the consequences in video format, you should shoot smoothly, moving the camera slowly, so that the image is of high quality.
Arie Mora notes that these simple fixation basics help make the video or photo informative and can then be used when bringing the perpetrators to justice.
It is also important not to lose the collected material, so it is better to immediately save at least two copies of the original: in the cloud environment and on physical media.
“If you follow these guidelines, it is more likely that the information you pick up will be reliable, can be checked and related to other information. Your material will be informative and will contain exactly the information that will be important for the analysis of events,” says Arie Mora.
“Films such as “20 days in Mariupol”, are definitely important because it is information obtained in a unique way. That is, many did not have access to these events and, accordingly, it may simply be impossible to obtain this information in another way, - emphasizes Arie Mora. “From the point of view of justice, I believe that any such information, any such footage can help establish a picture of events and provide additional context.”
In addition, from the point of view of the establishment of justice, the award of the “Oscar” This tape is a great achievement, as it draws the attention of the whole world to the actions of the Russians in Mariupol. Aryeh hopes that, in particular, the public resonance will be able to contribute to the further creation of a coherent architecture of justice for the illegal actions of the occupiers during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vera Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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