More than 600 cases of violation of civil rights were recorded in the occupied territory
Head of the UN Monitoring Mission on Human Rights in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, during the presentation at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center of reports on the treatment of prisoners of war and the general situation with human rights in Ukraine, reported that arbitrary executions, attacks on individual civilians from the side have been documented in the occupied territories of Ukraine armed forces of the Russian Federation, as well as widespread arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.
A total of 621 such cases have been documented since February 24, 2022. “We interviewed 127 civilians who were detained and then released. Among them, 90% reported that the Russian military and Security Service employees treated them cruelly and tortured them during their detention. In some cases, this included sexual violence. Five of these civilians were boys between the ages of 14 and 17,” Matilda Bogner said.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine notes that the terrible price that people pay for war is also manifested in cases of sexual violence. As of January 1, 2023, 133 victims were recorded.
In addition, documented cases of displacement of civilians to districts in the occupied territory or the Russian Federation. Children and adults who lived in social protection institutions, and children unaccompanied by adults from some districts of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, and Odesa regions moved.
Matilda Bogner emphasized that all offenders should be held accountable, and victims and their relatives should be able to take advantage of legal remedies and establish the truth. In this regard, the UN mission welcomes the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the law on amendments to the Criminal Code to harmonize national legislation with the UN Convention against Torture.
Regarding the violation of the rights of prisoners of war, the team of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission interviewed more than 400 prisoners of war – approximately 200 from each side. “Ukraine granted us unimpeded confidential access to the official places of internment of Russian prisoners of war.
Russia did not provide such access, but we were able to conduct confidential interviews with Ukrainian prisoners of war after their release,” the head of the mission in Ukraine noted.
Speaking about the conditions of detention, she welcomed the progress achieved thanks to the creation of a camp for prisoners of war in the Lviv region.
“The Russian Federation did not create a single camp. Ukrainian prisoners of war are regularly kept in isolation there,” Matilda Bogner added.
“More than a year has passed since the Russian Federation launched an armed attack on Ukraine. Quoting the High Commissioner, we call for respect, the sanctity of life, human dignity and the principle of humanity,” said Matilda Bogner.