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Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine 16 November 2018 to 15

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Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine 16 November 2018 to 15 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019 Table of Contents: Page I. Executive summary .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. OHCHR methodology ...................................................................................................................... 3 III. Impact of hostilities .......................................................................................................................... 4 A. Conduct of hostilities and civilian casualties ............................................................................. 4 B. Civilian casualties in 2018 ....................................................................................................... 5 C. Civilian casualties during the entire conflict period ................................................................... 6 D. Economic and social rights of conflict-affected persons ............................................................ 7 1. Remedy and reparation for conflict-affected population ....................................................... 8 2. Right to restitution and compensation for use or damage of private property......................... 8 3. Right to social security and social protection ....................................................................... 9 4. Freedom of movement, isolated communities and access to basic services.......................... 10 IV. Right to physical integrity ............................................................................................................... 11 A. Access to detainees and places of detention ............................................................................ 11 B. Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and abduction, torture and ill-treatment ............... 11 C. Situation of pre-conflict prisoners........................................................................................... 13 V. Accountability and administration of justice ................................................................................... 15 A. Administration of justice ........................................................................................................ 15 B. Accountability for human rights violations in eastern Ukraine ................................................ 17 C. Accountability for cases of violence related to riots and public disturbances............................ 17 1. Accountability for the killings of protesters during the Maidan protests .............................. 17 2. Accountability for the 2 May 2014 violence in Odesa ........................................................ 18 VI. Democratic/civic space and fundamental freedoms.......................................................................... 18 A. Freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of the media ................................................ 19 B. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association ....................................................................... 19 C. Freedom of religion or belief .................................................................................................. 20 D. Discrimination, hate speech, racially-motivated violence and manifestations of intolerance ..... 20 VII. Human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation .............................................................................. 21 A. International Humanitarian Law violations ............................................................................. 21 B. Administration of justice, intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders .................. 22 C. Freedoms of religion, opinion and expression ......................................................................... 23 D. Illegal population transfers and freedom of movement ............................................................ 24 E. Forced conscription................................................................................................................ 24 VIII. Technical cooperation and capacity-building ................................................................................... 25 IX. Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................................................. 26 I. Executive summary 1. This twenty-fifth report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is based on the work of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU),1 and covers the period from 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019. 2. OHCHR documented 315 human rights violations during the reporting period, which affected 202 victims.2 This represents an increase of documented violations compared with those documented during the previous reporting period of 16 August to 15 November 2018.3 Of the violations documented in this report, 221 violations occurred during the reporting period. 3. Of the violations documented by OHCHR, the Government of Ukraine was responsible for 126 violations, the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and self- proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’4 for 154, and the Government of the Russian Federation (as the occupying Power in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation5) for 35. 4. Throughout the reporting period, OHCHR operations in territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ continued to be restricted. Ongoing discussions through regular meetings with representatives of both ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ have yet to secure the full resumption of OHCHR operations in the territory they control, as well as unimpeded confidential access to detainees in this territory. 5. The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine continued with ongoing hostilities in a number of hotspots along the contact line. Overall, OHCHR noted a trend of decreasing conflict-related civilian casualties, which in 2018 were 53 per cent lower than in 2017, and were at their lowest for the entire conflict period.6 The total civilian death toll of the conflict reached at least 3,321 as of 15 February 2019. More than 80 per cent of these occurred before mid-February 2015, reflective of the long-term positive impact of the Package of Measures to implement the Minsk Agreements on the decline of hostilities and civilian casualties since the adoption of the latter and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2202 in February 2015.7 6. During the reporting period, OHCHR documented 16 conflict-related civilian casualties: two people were killed and 14 injured, which represents a 68 per cent decrease compared with the previous reporting period from 16 August to 15 November 2018. Shelling and small arms and light weapons (SALW) fire injured ten civilians – one of the lowest figures for the entire conflict period. Of these, nine were recorded in territory 1 HRMMU was deployed on 14 March 2014 to monitor and report on the human rights situation throughout Ukraine, and to propose recommendations to the Government and other actors to address human rights concerns. For more details, see paras. 7-8 of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Ukraine of 19 September 2014 (A/HRC/27/75). 2 Between 16 August and 15 November 2018, OHCHR documented 242 human rights violations. Of those, 207 human rights violations occurred in the course of that reporting period. These numbers include civilian casualties caused by the armed conflict. 3 The increase of violations documented is not representative of a deterioration of the overall human rights situation; it is in part due to a high number of victims of human rights violations OHCHR was able to interview only after their transfer to government-controlled territory in December 2018 and February 2019. 4 Hereinafter ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic.’ 5 Hereinafter Crimea. 6 279 conflict-related civilian casualties (55 killed and 224 injured) in 2018 versus 604 (117 killed and 487 inured) in 2017. 7 See United Nations Security Council resolution 2202/2015. 1 controlled by armed groups8 and are attributable to the Government, and one was recorded in government-controlled territory and is attributable to armed groups of ‘Donetsk people’s republic’. During the reporting period, OHCHR did not record any mine-related civilian casualties. 7. More than five million people,9 including over 1.3 million registered internally displaced persons (IDPs)10 and persons living in isolated communities along the contact line in eastern Ukraine continue to bear the brunt of the armed conflict and its consequences. The hardship they endure is exacerbated by the lack of access to basic services, social support, as well as remedies and reparations for injured persons and relatives of those killed and for destroyed property. A dozen civilians died in the first few weeks of 2019, mainly due to serious health complications, while crossing the contact line. During the winter months, the lack of adequate heating remained one of the main challenges for civilians, especially those living along the contact line. Despite consistent court decisions in favour of
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