The number of appeals concerning violations of citizens’ rights related to the mobilization process increased 333-fold compared with 2022. This was stated by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets during a parliamentary session, UNN reports.
The most acute issue I faced in 2025 was mobilization. Dear Members of Parliament, the number of appeals to me concerning violations of the rights of Ukrainian citizens related to the mobilization process increased 333-fold compared with 2022. I received more than 6,000 appeals. Unfortunately, the shameful practice of using balaclavas, employing unlawful force, and beatings continues; it has even reached the point where civilians are being killed on the premises of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers. All the instructions given to the relevant institutions regarding a fundamental change in the mobilization process have failed
He noted that, unlike many who publicly claim that it is impossible to change the system amid full-scale aggression, he categorically disagrees.
I demand that a working group be urgently established at the level of the Ministry of Defense, which the Commissioner himself will join together with representatives of Parliament. We have a solution for urgently changing this situation. Ukrainian citizens must feel protected on the premises of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers, not the opposite
Supplement
Today, May 13, the Verkhovna Rada took note of the annual report presented by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on the state of observance and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine in 2025.
Parliament recommended that state authorities and local self-government bodies consider the recommendations set out in the annual report presented by the Ombudsman and take measures within their remit to properly ensure the realization of human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine.
The report states that in 2025 there was a trend in which employees of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers carried out forcible detentions and document checks in a manner that could violate citizens’ rights.
"People are being forcibly taken to Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers without the authorities to do so. These employees often cover their faces with balaclavas and do not use body cameras. In 2025, 6,127 appeals to me concerned signs of violations of rights during mobilization. They involved unlawful detentions, as well as superficial medical examinations and problems with deferments. Every appeal received a response — inquiries, inspections, and actions within the scope of my powers. As a result, a number of systemic, personnel, legal, and organizational problems were recorded, and relevant recommendations were provided to eliminate them. At the end of the year, another trend emerged: unlawful actions by citizens toward employees of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers. Therefore, I emphasize: mobilization cannot take place outside the law. Violations of rights are unacceptable regardless of who commits them. The law must be the sole standard of accountability," - the report states.
We would like to remind you
In Odesa, violations of human rights by representatives of Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers were recorded and are already being given a legal assessment. Against the backdrop of a growing number of complaints, this case became a telling signal of the need for systemic changes in the work of the bodies responsible for mobilization.