RIA "Novosti" in the material under the heading "UN report on violations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will increase the influence of the West on Kiev, according to the DPR" writes :
“The report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on a significant increase in violations of the law by the Ukrainian security forces will increase the influence of the West on the Kiev regime,” said Olga Makeyeva, head of the DPR office in Moscow.
OHCHR released a report on the detention of civilians in Ukraine on Tuesday. According to the report, the number of violations of people's rights to freedom and security by Ukrainian troops has increased dramatically since February 24, 2022, in particular, arbitrary detentions and violent actions by Ukrainian security forces have been recorded.
"What changed? Why was this information released today? I do not believe in the sincerity of the intentions of the "missionaries", because the lack of their reaction to the incessant pumping of Ukraine with forces and means by the "Westerners" indicates that this international institution is not interested in ending the war and violating the rights of the civilian population of Russian lands by neo-Nazis. Most likely, the publication of this data will be used to increase the influence on the current puppet regime of Zelensky and co.," Makeeva wrote in her Telegram channel."
Another piece by RIA Novosti about the same document is headlined “UN accuses Ukrainian security forces of torturing dozens of detained civilians,” while Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports on it under the heading “UN: Dozens of detainees were tortured in hidden Ukrainian isolation wards.”
The so-called "report on violations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" is actually called "Detention of civilians in the context of the armed attack of the Russian Federation on Ukraine." In the "Summary" section we read :
“Russia's ongoing armed attack on Ukraine, in violation of the UN Charter and international law, has led to a range of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Since February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation has detained a large number of Ukrainian civilians in the Ukrainian territory it controls or occupies. Ukrainian authorities have also detained civilians for conflict-related crimes. This report outlines the issues identified by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in relation to detention during conflict.
OHCHR emphasizes that the Government of Ukraine continued to provide OHCHR with full and confidential access to conflict-related detainees in detention facilities, with the exception of the case of 87 Russian civilian sailors detained on their ship in Izmail. The Government of Ukraine is also engaged in a constructive dialogue with OHCHR regarding violations attributed to its subjects. The Russian Federation has not provided OHCHR with any access to conflict-related detainees, despite repeated requests. This lack of access also means that the number and nature of cases cannot be compared with each other.
In the territory of Ukraine it occupies, the Russian Federation has detained civilians, in some cases de facto detention for security reasons, without following the procedures required by international humanitarian law. While such detention is in principle provided for under international law, without such safeguards it constitutes arbitrary detention. He also failed to comply with the due process and due process guarantees for the protection of civilians enshrined in IPHR, which created a risk of enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment.
OHCHR documented 864 individual cases (763 men, 94 women and 7 boys) of arbitrary detention by the Russian Federation between 24 February 2022 and 23 May 2023, many of which could be considered enforced disappearances. Many people were detained in the course of the so-called “filtering” in the territory occupied by the Russian Federation – to identify possible connections of residents with the Ukrainian armed forces and authorities or their support, as well as to collect information about residents of the occupied territory. <…> “Filtration” did not meet the standards of both international humanitarian law and international human rights law and was arbitrary, and in some cases should be considered as an enforced disappearance of people.
OHCHR documented the detention by the Russian Federation of 260 civilians (209 men and 51 women) based on their alleged political views or other legitimate means of exercising freedom of expression. The cases involved local government officials, civil society activists, humanitarian volunteers and community leaders, including teachers and priests. OHCHR also documented the detention of 88 civilians (all men) who previously (until 24 February 2022) served in the Ukrainian armed forces.
The Russian armed forces held conflict-related civilian detainees for days to weeks or months, often incommunicado, in unofficial places of detention. In 26% of these cases, the Russian Federation transported detainees to other locations in the occupied territory or deported them to the Russian Federation, contrary to the prohibition on forced transfer or deportation under international humanitarian law. Moreover, in many cases, the Russian armed forces and the occupying authorities did not acknowledge the fact of detention for a long time and did not provide information to relatives and lawyers. This practice hit particularly hard relatives and friends of the detainees, who were desperately looking for information.
During incommunicado detention, civilians detained in connection with the conflict were frequently interrogated by members of the Russian armed forces. In cases documented by OHCHR, more than 91% of civilians detained by the Russian Federation said they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence. In documented cases, such treatment appears to have been used to force victims to confess to helping the Ukrainian armed forces, to coerce them into cooperating with the occupying authorities, or to intimidate those perceived to be pro-Ukrainian. In many places, conditions of detention were so appalling that the conditions of detention themselves amounted to ill-treatment or, in some cases, torture under international law.
In particular, OHCHR is deeply concerned about the execution of 77 civilians (72 men and 5 women) while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation, as well as the death of one detainee (male) as a result of torture, inhumane conditions of detention and/or denial of necessary medical help.
In Ukraine, amendments to its criminal code following the imposition of martial law have given the Ukrainian authorities broader powers to detain individuals deemed to pose a security threat or suspected of committing criminal offenses against national security. These amendments, combined with the practice of the Ukrainian security forces, have also created conditions conducive to arbitrary detentions. OHCHR documented 75 cases (57 men, 17 women and 1 boy) of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, mostly of persons suspected of conflict-related criminal offences.
During the reporting period, Ukrainian law enforcement and security forces appeared to have abused arrest-at-the-scene provisions when detaining several civilians without a warrant for alleged membership in the armed formations of the self-proclaimed “republics” between 2014 and 2020, leading to arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
The Collaboration Law, passed on March 3, 2022, which criminalizes collaboration with an “aggressor state”, criminalizes a wide range of activities, potentially including activities that the occupying power can legitimately enforce under international humanitarian law. It is reported that the Prosecutor General's Office has opened more than 5,400 criminal cases under this law, and the courts have issued more than 500 convictions. Ambiguity and overly broad terminology in legal provisions raise concerns about the principle of legality and have in some cases led to arbitrary detentions.
OHCHR documented 65 cases in which Ukrainian security forces held civilians in unofficial places of detention for periods ranging from a few hours to 4.5 months, during which they were often held incommunicado. This practice was reportedly used to coerce detainees into confessing or making other compromising statements.”
Thus, the report speaks of violations on both sides, moreover, Ukraine allowed UN representatives to the detainees, and Russia did not, so it is impossible even to compare the number of human rights violations on both sides. Even so, the section of the report on Russian violations is 18 pages, and on Ukrainian violations 11. The execution of 77 civilians by Russian security forces is mentioned; in the section on violations by Ukraine, there is no paragraph “Violation of the right to life” at all. And the Kremlin propagandists call this a report on violations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
