UN Working Group should invalidate its Opinion on Ruben Vardanyan – Luis Moreno Ocampo

A new report by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has revealed a serious conflict of interest inside the United Nations system, raising doubts about the fairness of a ruling concerning Ruben Vardanyan. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) issued Opinion No. 46/2024 in February 2025, claiming that Vardanyan’s detention was not arbitrary.

Ocampo’s report exposed that Ganna Yudkivska, the chairperson of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), is a partner at Equity Law Firm, which represents the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR in Ukraine.

“Ms. Ganna Yudkivska, a Ukrainian lawyer appointed to the WGAD in October 2022, should have abstained from all cases brought to the UN Working Group against Azerbaijan. In short, she has a conflict of interest arising from her professional work as an active partner at Equity Law Firm, which has for years provided legal services and representation for the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). This establishes a direct financial link between her and the Azerbaijani Government, a party to Opinion 46/2024 proceedings,” Ocampo stated in his report.

He argues that this situation contravenes the Code of Conduct and other UN rules that require recusal when financial interests overlap with UN functions. Ocampo also highlighted the close personal and political ties of Yudkivska’s husband—a Ukrainian politician accused of corruption—with Azerbaijan.

“A possible proper remedy is for the WGAD to invalidate Opinion No. 46/2024 and request the original petitioner to submit a new petition, which would be processed by the WGAD on a de novo basis,” Ocampo concluded.