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HRC56 HC Turk on Ukraine and Ambassador Filipenko 09JUL2024 Continuity
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16:18
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- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Ukraine
- Yevheniia Filipenko – Ukraine's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.
Interactive Dialogue on oral presentation of the High Commissioner on Ukraine
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Ukraine and Yevheniia Filipenko – Ukraine's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol - Interim report of the Secretary-General.
Cooperation with and assistance to Ukraine in the field of human rights -- oral presentation of the High Commissioner of the findings of the periodic report of OHCHR and on the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine
Teleprompter
Mr Vice President, Excellence is distinguished delegates, yesterday's massive missile attacks across Ukraine, including the horrifying strike on Ahmadid, Ukraine's largest children's referral hospital, once again lay bare the disastrous consequences of the war waged against Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
I'm outraged by the sight of children, already so vulnerable in war, suffering the terror attack, suffering the the the terror of attack while receiving medical treatment.
Appallingly, we see this again and again, not just in Ukraine, but also in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.
Our common humanity is lost in such instances.
It begs the guest the question again and again why the dangerous ideology of past centuries is back with such a vengeance.
After all that happened in the 20th century and with the founding of the United Nations, we would have thought the world had overcome such atavistic and perilous thinking.
These relentless daily attacks across the country continue to aggravate the human rights situation of civilians, causing physical harm, destroying homes and infrastructure, and ripping families apart, leading to long term socio economic challenges including diminished access to education, loss of livelihood and poverty.
The month of May saw the highest monthly verified civilian casualty number in nearly a year, with 174 civilians killed and 690 injured in Ukraine, according to my team on the ground, between March and May, 436 civilians were killed and 1760 injured, including children, media workers, healthcare workers and emergency service personnel.
The actual figure figures are likely much higher.
These **** civilian casualties are largely the result of the ground offensive and aerial attacks, including with powerful air dropped bombs that took place in Kharkiv region.
And since the 10th of May, nearly 12,000 people were evacuated from the border regions and several thousand others fled their homes on their own out of fear for their lives.
Coordinated large scale attacks by the Russian Federation against Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, deployed through eight major waves since the 22nd of March, have been the most extensive since the winter of 2223.
Such attacks must stop immediately.
They have targeted power generating and distribution facilities, significantly degrading Ukraine's capacity to generate electricity.
Millions of people across Ukraine experience daily power cuts, often for many hours at a time, reducing access to water supply, mobile and Internet connectivity, public transportation and restricting children's ability to study.
As many in Ukraine attend school remotely, knock on effects are expected.
Unemployment, tax revenues and social protection price increases are likely to affect groups in situations of vulnerability disproportionately, especially older people with low pensions, the majority of whom are women, persons with disabilities and people living in poverty.
But the worst is possibly yet to come, as energy companies and the Ukrainian authorities caution that repeated strikes have reduced the ability to make the necessary repairs to heat homes during winter.
Again, senseless suffering.
Mr Vice President, recently released Ukrainian prisoners of war have provided detailed accounts of torture, ill treatment and sexual violence.
They described brutal beatings, prolonged stress positions, electric shocks and beatings to genitals, dog attacks and severe food deprivation.
Based on interviews with over 600 released Ukrainian civilian detainees and PO WS, torture in places of detention run by the by the Russian Federation is widespread.
This is abominable.
I urge the Russian Federation immediately to see such practises to improve detention conditions, establish mixed medical commissions, and to grant full access to my office and to independent monitors to all places where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees are held, including in occupied territory.
My team in Ukraine also interviewed dozens of relatives of PO WS and civilian detainees who had not heard from their loved ones in months or even years, and some no word at all.
This silence is agonising for families.
The Russian Federation must ensure, in line with international law, timely information is shared on the fate and whereabouts of Pows and civilian detainees and allow communication with families.
My office also continued to to document the torture and the treatment of Russian PO WS after capture and while in transit to official places of internment, including beatings and electric shocks.
According to our information, the torture of Russian PO WS ceased when the PO WS arrived in official places of internment.
The Ukrainian authorities need to investigate these instances and ensure the treatment of PO WS at every stage is in line with international law.
I call for the complete exchange of all prisoners of war and the unconditional release of those civilians unlawfully detained, including in occupied territory, and for their safe return.
My office stands ready to support such efforts.
I reiterate that children deported or transferred to the Russian Federation must be returned immediately.
I urge the Russian Federation to provide information to the Central Tracing Agency about all children moved from occupied territory and to facilitate their return to their families in government controlled territory.
Ukrainian authorities continued to convict people on charges of collaboration activities, including for doing work that benefited the population, such as restoring gas supply or distributing wood wood for heating.
Guilty verdicts were handed down in all 322 judgements issued during the reporting period.
I welcome the guidelines recently issued by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine seeking to ensure that prosecution of such cases is aligned with international law and encourage implementation in full.
In occupied territory, my office has documented increased pressure on residents to obtain Russian passports.
Many people who recently left the occupied territory, notably older people, reported experiencing difficulties in accessing healthcare without Russian citizenship.
Parents reported being under pressure to obtain Russian passports to send their kids to school.
I recall that compelling residents in occupied territory to obtain the citizenship of the occupying power is a violation of international humanitarian law.
I now turn to the Secretary General's report on the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
It highlights ongoing violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture, and violations to the freedoms of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association.
People perceived as opposing the occupation, including bloggers, channelists, supporters of the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people and pro Ukrainian activists are targeted.
This is all occurring in a context of near impunity, with the Russian Federation adopting laws effectively granting amnesty to service persons for a broad range of crimes.
Mr Vice President, the pursuit of war, the practise of escalation, cannot become the new normal.
I urge the Russian Federation once again immediately to seize its use of armed force against Ukraine, withdraw its military forces from the territory of Ukraine in line with the order of the International Court of Justice, and scrupulously to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
There needs to be an immediate stop to the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas.
During the reporting period, 96% of civilian casualties were caused by the use of such weapons.
In such circumstances, my office will continue meticulously to monitor the document and report on the ground realities of this awful war, including in occupied territory.
Accountability must be served.
War is the worst enemy of human rights.
It is an aberration not just in the current context but also everywhere else.
It has to be shunned and peace must be found in line with the United Nations Charter and international law.
That is the most fervent wish of Ukrainians.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, Mr.
Commissioner, According to our practise, we will start by hearing the delegations of the countries concerned by the reports.
I see that the representative of the Russian Federation is not in the room, and I would now like to give the floor to the distinguished representative of Ukraine.
You have 5 minutes.
Thank you, Mr Vice President, we extend our gratitude to the **** Commissioner for presenting the Office's comprehensive reports, which provide undeniable evidence of Russia's heinous crimes against the Ukrainian people.
Today is yet another difficult day for Ukraine as we mourn the victims of yesterday's terror attack when Russia unleashed a barrage of missile strikes across my country, resulting in the deaths of at least 38 people and injuring 170 others.
Among the targeted civilian objects were the largest National Children's Hospital, Ahmadid, where seriously ill children received life saving medical treatment.
In a cruel twist of fate, Russian war criminals are attacking innocent children who are courageously battling cancer.
Recent waves of bombardments have left a trail of death and plunged millions Into Darkness.
This savage ******* threatens to rob Ukrainians of essential services, casting a foreboding shadow over the approaching winter months.
Latest images of Ukrainian prisoners of war, those of the Komba, and civilian detainees made shortly after their release from Russian captivity, depicted chilling reality of oppression and terror.
Families in a desperate search for answers about the fate of their loved ones face a deafening silence or outright denial from Russian authorities, raising the spectre of enforced disappearances.
Amidst this chaos, the Secretary General's interim report underscores that the international community must not lose sight of the human rights situation in the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea.
Russian authorities are tightening their grip on residents, coercing them into obtaining Russian citizenship and illegally conscripting them into the Russian army.
Those who resist Russia's occupation are systematically targeted, as evidenced by the January judgement of the International Court of Justice regarding the persecution of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in the occupied territories.
Hi, Commissioner.
We have taken careful note of the information on alleged violation by the Ukrainian side and the recommendations in the report, which will be rigorously examined to ensure necessary actions are taken in line with our national legislation and international obligations.
Even in the face of blazing aggression, aggression, Ukraine remains unwavering in its commitment to international human, humanitarian and human rights law.
We demand the Russian Federation do the same.
As an occupying power, it must bear full responsibility for the human rights catastrophe unfolding in the Ukrainian territories under its temporary military control.
The heroin accounts of widespread torture and I'll treatment, including abhorrent acts of social violence, must cease immediately.
Human rights and humanitarian mechanisms must be granted full and unimpeded access without delay.
Distinguished delegates, Two weeks ago, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights published its judgement in the case of Ukraine versus Russia regarding Crimea, recognising numerous heinous crimes committed by Russia since the temporary occupation of Crimea in February 2014, including abduction and forced disappearance, unlawful detention, torture and I'll treatment of political prisoners, violation of freedom of expression, religion and peaceful assembly and deprivation of property.
In the same week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defence Minister Shoiku and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army Gerasimov in connection with alleged international crimes committed in Ukraine.
Both have now joined their Supreme Supreme Commander in Chief Putin, who has been on the arrest warrant list as a suspect in war crimes since March 2023.
This irrefutably shows that justice is within reach.
The sooner Russian aggression and war crimes end, the faster, just and lasting peace will be restored.
As demonstrated by the Global Peace Summit, over 100 States and international organisations share a vision of peace based on the respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and UN Charter.
We urge all UN Member States to join this international effort to implement the principles of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, the only viable path to achieving this goal.
It is imperative to stand united in condemning Russia's atrocious crimes, demanding the immediate release of all unlawfully detained Ukrainians, and ensure ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their monstrous actions.
We must act now, as every hour of every day counts.
I thank you.
Thank you.