UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC58 - Human Rights in Ukraine

Closed in 15 minutes.

You have the floor, Mr Turk.

Thank you very much, President.

English delegates, recent weeks have seen intense activity around a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, which would be very welcome.

The discussions and reported commitments on freedom of navigation on the Black Sea announced this week will be an important step for global food security.

And yet, in parallel with these talks, fighting in in Ukraine has intensified and is killing and injuring even more civilians.

Casualty figures in the first three months of this year were 30% higher than the same period last year.

My office verified that 413 civilians have been killed and more than 2000 injured since the beginning of the year.

More than 30 civilians were killed and 200 injured in just one week during March, and the actual number is likely higher.

In one recent attack on 7 March, Russian armed forces attacked the town of Dobrobilia with a ballistic missile, cluster munitions and drones.

My office visited the site and verified at least 11 civilians killed and 48 injured.

Since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, our office has verified that more than 12,700 civilians have been killed and more than 30,000 have been injured again.

The actual figures are almost certainly much higher.

Every single one of those deaths is a tragedy, A life cut short, a grieving family, a lost future.

I will never forget the Ukrainians I met as we sheltered together from Russian bombardment when I visited Kiev 2 years ago, or the woman who showed me her apartment block which had been reduced to rubble.

The vast majority of civilian casualties in this war are Ukrainians killed and injured by Russian forces.

Three years into the war, the Russian Federation continues to use powerful explosive weapons in populated areas despite unacceptably **** levels of civilian casualties running counter to international humanitarian law, Russia's long range missiles, drones and aerial Clyde bombs were responsible for 40% of casualties this year.

I'm alarmed by the increasing use of short range combat drones by both card parties to the conflict.

These new devices have killed and injured more civilians than any other weapon since December.

I'm also concerned by the killing of civilians in Russian occupied territory of Ukraine.

6 people, including three journalists, were reportedly killed by Ukrainian rocket strike in Luhansk region earlier this week.

Mr.

President, the report my office published on 21 March provides details of the suffering of millions of Ukrainian children since Russia launched its full scale invasion.

My office verified that between the beginning of the full scale invasion and the end of 2024, some 669 Ukrainian children were killed and 1833 injured.

Again, the actual numbers are are likely much higher.

Beyond death, life changing injuries and psychological trauma, the conflict has disrupted education and healthcare for children on a massive scale, forced more than 2.4 million children from their homes, separated children from their parents, and undermined their rights to health, housing, education, family life and an adequate standard of living.

Land mines and explosive remnants of war pose long term risks to children's lives and safety in Russian occupied territory of Ukraine.

The report provides disturbing details of children facing serious violence, including summary executions.

My office verified that five boys and two girls were summary summarily executed in 2022 and 2023.

Children were also subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and I'll treatment, including sexual violence.

My office has documented that at least 200 children have been transferred within Russian occupied territory or to the Russian Federation.

Schools in occupied territory teach the Russian curriculum in the Russian language and children are not allowed to speak Ukrainian.

Children are compelled to participate in pro Russian patriotic and military training, deepening social divisions and creating intergenerational tensions.

These policies violate international humanitarian law.

More broadly, there is continued coercive pressure on residents of occupied territory to obtain Russian citizenship in order to access basic services.

On one January, the occupying authorities in several regions stopped paying social benefits to people who do not have Russian passports.

Last week, a new Russian decree stated that Ukrainian citizens in the Russian Federation and in the occupied territory of Ukraine must leave by 10 September unless they have legalised their presence under Russian law.

The occupying authorities continue to prosecute Ukrainians for criticising the occupation using Ukrainian symbols or expressing pro Ukrainian sentiments.

I'm also appalled by the crackdown and repression against those opposing the war.

Within the Russian Federation itself.

Thousands of anti war protesters have been prosecuted under new laws that that criminalise criticism of the war.

Credible reports indicate a sharp increase in prosecutions, convictions and long sentences of people who participated in peaceful anti war resistance, including social media posts.

Mr.

President, executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian Federation have increased dramatically since August 2024.

My office charged 27 such executions in which a total of 84 soldiers were killed.

As credible prisoners of war and civilian detainees held by the Russian Federation are subjected to dire conditions, my office continues to receive allegations of widespread and systematic torture and I'll treatment, including sexual violence.

I'm also disturbed by an apparent policy to prosecute Ukrainian soldiers captured on the territory of the Russian Federation for, and I quote, terrorist activities.

My office has recorded dozens of such convictions in which Ukrainian prisoners have been sentenced to 15 to 17 years in prison.

I'm deeply concerned by the atmosphere of impunity and dehumanisation that prevails over the widespread violations I have described.

Under international law, prisoners of war must not be tortured, executed or prosecuted merely for taking part in hostilities, no matter who they are or where they fought.

Mr.

President, while the war continues to rage, I call again for an end to attacks on civilians and to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

All precautions must be taken to avoid harm to civilians.

Summary executions and the torture and mistreatment of prisoners of war must end.

I call on the Russian Federation to respect the human rights of people in areas under its occupation, and I urge the international community to use its influence to ensure full respect to international human rights and humanitarian law.

Mr.

President, limited ceasefires that protect shipping lanes and infrastructure are a welcome step forward.

What is most needed now is an end to the horrific suffering being inflicted daily in Ukraine.

Peace in line with General Assembly resolutions, the United Nations Charter and international law is more urgent than ever.

It must be anchored in human rights.

Peace based on human rights means the meaningful participation of women and young people in peace processes.

It means the return of all prisoners of war, the release of civilians detained arbitrarily, including those in Russia who oppose the war, and the return of children transferred by the Russian Federation.

It means an end to discrimination based on nationality or language.

It means full respect for freedom of expression, language, culture and religion.

It means people are able to move freely again across all parts of Ukraine and to get on with their lives wherever they want to live.

House, land and property rights need to be restored and peace based on human rights means protecting people, including through demining full and unhindered access to humanitarian aid and independent human rights monitoring.

We know from experience the truth telling, transitional justice and accountability are essential to sustainable peace.

Mr.

President, my office has been in Ukraine since 2014, documenting, monitoring and reporting on human rights violations.

We remain at the disposal of both parties and the international community to keep human rights and the Ukrainian people at the centre of all discussions around peace.

Thank you very much.

Thank you in.

Line with our standard practise, we will begin by hearing from the delegations of the countries concerned.

I have been advised that the delegation of the Russian Federation does not wish to take the floor at this juncture, and so I.

Give the.

Floor to the distinguished representative of Ukraine.

You have 5 minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

President, after long experience as an ambassador at large on human rights and now as appointed Permanent Representative in Geneva, I cannot but express our deep gratitude to **** Commissioner for his update and to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Commission for documenting ongoing human rights violations in Ukraine due to Russia's brutal aggression.

Since Russia's full scale invasion, at least 669 Ukrainian children have been killed and 1833 injured.

There are not mere statistics, but young lives stolen, dreams extinguished and future lost.

Indiscriminate attacks, including artillery strikes, air raids and missile barrages, have reduced homes, schools and hospitals to ruins.

Ukraine is now one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, endangering children for years to come.

Beyond physical harm, the psychological toll on Ukrainian children is devastating.

Thousands suffer from PTSD, depression and emotional distress due to displacement, loss of family members and exposure exposure to violence.

Even more horrific are documented cases of sexual violence committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian children, leaving lasting physical and psychological scars.

Russia's war has also deprived millions of Ukrainian children of their right to education.

More than 1600 educational facilities have been destroyed or severely damaged, and over 420,000 children must rely on online learning only, often disrupted by attacks on critical infrastructure.

Mr.

President, **** Commissioner, one of the most outrageous crimes is a forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus.

Stripped of their identity, many are illegally adopted by Russians, forced to forget their language and heritage, and even given new names.

This is not just a blatant violation of the forced Geneva Convention and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

It is a deliberate attempt to erase an entire generation of Ukrainians in occupied territories.

Ukrainian children are subjected to systematic rusification.

The Ukrainian language is banned from schools, replaced with Russian propaganda.

Children are forced into so-called patriotic Russian military training, pressure to renounce their Ukrainian identity and threatened with punishment if they resist.

Parents seeking to provide Ukrainian language education face persecution.

Russia's atrocities continue.

Just recently, March 24th, a missile attack on Sumi injured 106 people, including 23 children, and damaged 73 buildings.

March 25, a Russian strike on playground in Donetsk killed their three-year old girl and her mother.

The day before yesterday in Kharkiv, 11 people were injured, including a 14 year old girl.

This is a grim reality Ukrainian families are facing every day.

**** Commissioner, distinguished delegates, despite this atrocities, Ukraine remains resilient.

We are committed to ensuring every child has access to education and psychological support to heal from the traumas of war.

Schools are being rebuilt and special rehabilitation programmes have been launched to help children recover.

We are not just reconstructing building, we are rebuilding lives.

The Brinks Kids Back UA initiative is a national effort to locate, return and rehabilitate children forcibly taken by Russia.

Every child matters and every child must be brought home.

We urge the international community to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and to pressure Russia to release abducted children and reunite families torn apart by war.

We demand that Russia immediately return all Ukrainian children, seize its systematic indocrination and forced ratification, and grant international organisations unrestricted access to investigate war crimes against them.

We cannot bring back those we have lost, but we can fight for those who remain.

Every child deserves to grow up in the safety, to dream without fear, to leave without war.

Ukraine will never stop fighting for its children.

Their suffering must not become another forgotten tragedy.

Their voices must be heard.

Justice must prevail.

The aggressor must be held accountable.

Thank you.

Mercy.

HRC58 - Human Rights in Ukraine - 28 March 2025