The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a worrying report Wednesday on the human rights situation in Ukraine as part of the ongoing Russian invasion. The United Nations has recorded 10,000 civilian casualties since the conflict began on February 24, “including 4,731 people killed,” Matilda Bogner, head of the Human Rights Watch mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Kyiv as she presented her findings. He warned that the death toll was “significantly higher”, as the report only highlighted evidence that the mission had been able to verify independently. “The Russian Federation’s armed attack on Ukraine has had a devastating impact on human rights throughout the country. We have documented violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including war crimes. “These violations underscore the heavy price that day-to-day conflict has,” Bogner said. The report is based on information gathered during 11 field visits, three visits to detention facilities and 517 interviews with victims and witnesses between 24 February and 15 May 2022. The data are also based on court documents, official records and open sources. The report documents violations of international human rights and humanitarian law “to varying degrees, by both parties,” according to Bogner.
“The high number of civilian casualties and the extent of the damage and damage to civilian infrastructure raise serious concerns that the attacks carried out by the Russian Armed Forces were not in accordance with international humanitarian law. “Although on a much lower scale, it also appears that the Ukrainian armed forces have not complied with international humanitarian law in the eastern parts of the country.” The report also expressed “serious concerns” about allegations of torture of prisoners of war on both sides of the conflict, including testimonies from 44 prisoners of war interviewed by the UN mission. Bogner stressed that the mission found evidence of widespread use of extrajudicial sanctions against those allegedly looters, thieves and traffic offenders in Ukraine. “The OHCHR has substantiated and verified allegations of unlawful killings, including the brief executions of civilians in more than 30 settlements in the Kiev, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions committed while these territories were under Russian control. forces. “In Bucha (Kiev region alone), the OHCHR recorded the illegal killings, including the summary executions of at least 50 civilians,” the report said, adding that the full scale of the problem “has not yet been fully assessed.” The UN document also outlined “concerns about the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance” of local authorities, journalists, civil society activists and other civilians from Russian troops and affiliated armed groups. The OHCHR recorded 248 cases of arbitrary detention, six of which resulted in death. The OHCHR report contains “reasonable reasons to believe” that both the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces have used weapons equipped with cluster munitions, including the Tochka-U missiles, which resulted in civilian casualties. The use of such weapons in residential areas is contrary to international law. Concluding the report, the OHCHR advised all parties to the conflict to “respect and ensure respect at all times and in all circumstances” for international human rights and humanitarian law. The report also urged Russia to “immediately stop the armed attack” and to comply with its obligations under international law. The Human Rights Watch Mission in Ukraine maintains its presence in Donetsk, Dnipro, Odessa and Uzhhorod.