In the latest report on the human rights situation in Ukraine published on June 20, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has drawn attention to an increase of civilian casualties as the war in eastern Ukraine entered its fifth year.
Covering Feb. 16 to March 15, the office has reported a 9 percent increase on the previous reporting period (November 2017 to February 2018), with over half of the 91 civilian casualties taking place in April alone.
This has brought the number of civilians killed so far in the war to over 3,000, while the overall number of casualties is estimated at 10,300 people.
Cases of unlawful detention and torture also rose to 28, more than double the number of the previous period. In the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts controlled by the Russian-backed separatists, the High Commissioner for Human Rights believes that torture of detainees remains deliberately hidden from international monitors, and in the 25 cases of abuse they raised with armed groups, only one saw the opening of an “investigation.”
Moreover, in recent months the war has put critical infrastructure at risk, in particular the Donetsk Filtration Station, which supplies water to over one million people on both sides.
The situation in Crimea has also seen no improvement. In violation of international human rights law, Russia continues to apply its own laws to the occupied territory, while the March 18 Russian Presidential election violated three UN General Assembly resolutions.
In the first case of enforced disappearance in Crimea since 2016, one Ukrainian from Kharkiv disappeared on April 11. Documents show he was detained by the FSB without charges, and on the day he was supposed to be released, he disappeared again. As of the end of the reporting period, his whereabouts were still not known.
However, the report also raised concerns about human rights-related issues in government-controlled territory.
In particular, the UN commissioner highlighted state interference with judicial independence, as some judges have reported that following the release of individuals suspected of terrorism or separatism pending trial, they themselves became the subject of criminal investigations.
Civilians are also continuing to have difficulties in receiving compensation from local authorities for the damage caused to property, of which there have been over 40,000 cases since 2014. While most such cases that are brought to court are ruled in the favor of the claimant, not a single decision has been executed. A resident of one village described how, on attempting to ask for compensation, she was told to “just be thankful you are alive” by the local administration.
The report also commented on Ukrainian government’s change of the terminology for the way: It renamed the Anti-Terrorist Operation as Joint Forces Operation on April 30.
In terms of the impact on human rights, the UN commissioner is wary due to the subsequent security zones that can be established around the contact line, giving the authorities special powers without having to impose martial law.
The government has also made little progress on adopting an inclusive policy for the reparation of injured civilians or relatives of those killed. Officially, only nine children in Ukraine have thus far received the status of “affected by armed hostilities and armed conflicts.”
The report further noted the continued difficulties in crossing the 457 kilometer-long contact line. Long queues, inadequate medical facilities and a lack of shelter from the weather resulted in two civilians dying while crossing through official route during the reporting period.
Attacks on media professionals also saw an increase – in two instances the police were perpetrators and in three, members of extreme right-wing groups.
The report raised concerns in particular of the activities of these right-wing groups, which perpetrated 25 separate attacks on individuals, public events, and peaceful assemblies. In most cases, the government failed to prevent or investigate them, such as the attacks on Roma communities. These issues are considered to be particularly worrying in the context of the upcoming campaigns for the presidential and parliamentary elections in March and October 2019, respectively.
Concluding the report, it is noted that the human rights situation has remained substantially unchanged – a serious concern in itself.
