The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a report on the ill-treatment of civilians deprived of liberty during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is stated in the OHCHR report, writes UNN.
Details
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a detailed report on the treatment of civilians deprived of liberty in connection with Russia's armed attack on Ukraine. The report covers the period from the beginning of the full-scale aggression in 2022 and emphasizes that the mass detention of civilians and military personnel remains a harsh reality.
According to the document, Russian forces systematically violated international humanitarian law and human rights, and the Ukrainian detention system, although it adhered to some safeguards, also faces serious problems due to the scale of the war.
Russia and Ukraine detained different groups of civilians for different reasons and for different periods. Despite these differences, international humanitarian law and international human rights law establish general minimum standards for the fair and humane treatment of detainees. Civilians may be deprived of liberty only on grounds expressly provided for by international law, and they must be immediately released as soon as the legal grounds for their detention cease to exist.
Among the documented violations are the application of Russian criminal law instead of preserving local norms, the absence of internment procedures for civilians, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman treatment, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, and enforced disappearances. Many Ukrainians are still held in horrific conditions without access to necessary assistance.
The totality of these actions, combined with the lack of proper accountability, deprived many Ukrainian civilians of effective legal protection during their detention.
The report indicates that in the territory controlled by Ukraine, detentions mainly concerned citizens accused of national security-related charges. Although the authorities are trying to ensure procedural safeguards and improve detention conditions, OHCHR recorded cases of torture and ill-treatment, and the level of accountability for such actions remained limited.
The report also notes that Ukraine's accession process to the EU opens up opportunities to strengthen the human rights protection system in the penitentiary sphere, ensure accountability, and guarantee voluntary and informed consent for citizens being transferred to Russia as part of diplomatic initiatives for release.