New UN report documents russia's crimes in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
According to a UN report, russia is committing large-scale human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The UN has documented evidence of torture, executions, and suppression of Ukrainian identity committed by the russian military and security forces to strengthen control over the population.
The russian federation has created a suffocating atmosphere of fear in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, committing large-scale violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in an attempt to strengthen its control over the population living there. This is stated in the first in-depth report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNN reports.
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In a report on the situation in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine, the UN says it has found evidence of intimidation, arbitrary detention, and torture.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) was denied entry to the russian-occupied territory, so the report is based on remote and in-person interviews with more than 2,300 witnesses and victims.
Many people living under the occupation are subjected to intimidation and repression, facing the constant threat of violence, detention and punishment
UN investigators said they had confirmed the executions of 26 civilians, including two children, on the spot, for example during house searches, and the killing of another 30 civilians in custody. Most of the executions took place between March and May 2022. No one has been held accountable for the abuses.
In addition, russia is actively trying to suppress Ukrainian identity by imposing its "language, citizenship, laws, judiciary and curriculum on the occupied territories." The school curriculum has also been changed to try to "justify" the russian invasion, and access to Ukrainian media and telephone networks has been blocked.
The actions of the russian federation have torn apart the social fabric of communities and left people isolated, with profound and long-term consequences for Ukrainian society as a whole
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The report also accuses russian forces of using torture in places of detention. UN representatives received "credible and reliable testimonies about the treatment of 171 civilian detainees and found that 90 percent of them had been subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
Soldiers, police officers and prison officials are accused of using violence, including kicking, water and electric shock torture, and conflict-related sexual violence against 48 civilian detainees, including a child. The report also documented 16 cases of sexual violence by the russian armed forces against civilians who were not in custody, almost all of them against women.
Arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances are also widespread during the Russian occupation, the report says. A total of 687 cases of arbitrary detention were documented by December 2023: 587 men, 92 women, seven boys and one girl.
