The head of the UN Human rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, today gave an update on human rights concerns to the Geneva press briefing. Speaking via Zoom from Odesa, Bogner noted that every day she and her hearing from victims who have suffered human human rights violations in the context of the armed conflict, which escalated following the armed attack of the Russian Federation.
With regard to prisoners of war, Bogner said the Mission had documented a range of violations. The Mission has been granted unimpeded access to places of internment and detention in territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine. However, the Russian Federation has not provided access to prisoners of war held on its territory or in territory under its occupation, including areas controlled by its armed forces and affiliated armed groups.
Bogner said they were also following the cases of several pregnant prisoners of war interned in places controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups.
“We urge the Russian Federation, as the detaining power, to consider the immediate release of these women on humanitarian grounds,” said Bogner.
“In Government-controlled territory, we have also documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, usually upon capture, during initial interrogations or transportation to camps for internment,” she added.
While Crimea, occupied by the Russian Federation since 2014, has received less attention in recent months, Bogner said they had seen a significant deterioration in the situation there.
“This includes restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and violations of the right to a fair trial, as well as lack of accountability for such human rights violations. We are concerned that patterns of human rights violations documented in Crimea since 2014 may be repeated in territory newly occupied by the Russian Federation across Ukraine,” she explained.
In Crimea, the Russian Federation continues to clamp down on freedom of expression by applying vague and ill-defined legislation, penalizing real or perceived criticism of the Russian Federation or its armed forces. Since March, Bogner said they had documented the prosecution of 89 individuals in Crimea for what was termed “public actions directed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.
“Teachers in Crimea who refused to endorse the so-called – and I quote - “special military operation” face retaliation and sanctions. Human rights defenders have been arrested and prosecuted for their work, and defence lawyers intimidated,” she said.
The Mission has also documented arbitrary arrests and torture of individuals apprehended in the Russian-occupied Kherson region and transferred to Crimea.
“In addition, men who cross the administrative boundary line from mainland Ukraine to Crimea are subjected to so-called ‘filtration’ by the Russian Federal Security Service at checkpoints. According to credible reports received by our Mission, this exposes them to the risk of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment,” said Bogner.
“Crimean Tatars continue to face intimidation and harassment, police raids and house searches, and prosecution under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings, which often fall short of human rights standards. Furthermore, Crimean Tatar detainees continue to be deported to remote areas of the Russian Federation to serve their sentences,” she added.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine will continue to document and report the facts on the ground and the voices of victims. This was an essential part of seeking to prevent further violations and to hold those accountable for the violations already committed, Bogner said. More of the Mission’s findings on the impact of the armed attack by the Russian Federation on human rights in Ukraine will be included in the next report due to be issued on 27 September.
SHOTLIST:
TRT: 3:58
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 09.09. 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Institutionalised forced labour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea constitutes grave violations of human rights – UN report
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Time is running out for starving civilians in Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday, while talks involving the country’s warring parties continue in Geneva this week.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC faces a severe humanitarian crisis with 25M in need and rising conflict-related issues.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
A gimmer of good news emerged from Gaza on Tuesday as patients returned to at a newly reopened UN health centre in Khan Younis, six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close by heavy fighting, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN condemns attacks on Kyiv hospitals, calls for immediate action to protect civilians.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
In Gaza, soaring temperatures, hunger and unsanitary conditions present an ever more deadly threat to a population under constant attack, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WMO , IFRC
Hurricane Beryl smashes into Caribbean, turns sights on Mexico As Hurricane Beryl’s destructive path shifted to Mexico on Friday after roiling the Caribbean, UN agencies and partners said that the emergency response was underway, before warning that a very long and damaging hurricane season looks increasingly likely.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM , mcc , UNHCR
Refugees and migrants continue to face extreme forms of violence, exploitation and death on sea and on land across Africa as they attempt to leave the continent, UN agencies said on Friday, in an appeal to border authorities to do more to protect them.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk at the 56th Human Rigths Council, made the following update on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
New evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for areas in southern Gaza are expected to impact 250,000 people, including eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: People are desperate, they need everything, says UN aid agency Panic and desperation now grip ordinary Gazans struggling to survive, UN humanitarians said on Friday, amid fuel shortages of fuel and dwindling supplies that have prevented aid teams from doing their job.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies into Gaza, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.