The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The head of the UN Human rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, today gave an update on human rights concerns to the Geneva press briefing. Speaking via Zoom from Odesa, Bogner noted that every day she and her hearing from victims who have suffered human human rights violations in the context of the armed conflict, which escalated following the armed attack of the Russian Federation.
With regard to prisoners of war, Bogner said the Mission had documented a range of violations. The Mission has been granted unimpeded access to places of internment and detention in territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine. However, the Russian Federation has not provided access to prisoners of war held on its territory or in territory under its occupation, including areas controlled by its armed forces and affiliated armed groups.
Bogner said they were also following the cases of several pregnant prisoners of war interned in places controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups.
“We urge the Russian Federation, as the detaining power, to consider the immediate release of these women on humanitarian grounds,” said Bogner.
“In Government-controlled territory, we have also documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, usually upon capture, during initial interrogations or transportation to camps for internment,” she added.
While Crimea, occupied by the Russian Federation since 2014, has received less attention in recent months, Bogner said they had seen a significant deterioration in the situation there.
“This includes restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and violations of the right to a fair trial, as well as lack of accountability for such human rights violations. We are concerned that patterns of human rights violations documented in Crimea since 2014 may be repeated in territory newly occupied by the Russian Federation across Ukraine,” she explained.
In Crimea, the Russian Federation continues to clamp down on freedom of expression by applying vague and ill-defined legislation, penalizing real or perceived criticism of the Russian Federation or its armed forces. Since March, Bogner said they had documented the prosecution of 89 individuals in Crimea for what was termed “public actions directed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.
“Teachers in Crimea who refused to endorse the so-called – and I quote - “special military operation” face retaliation and sanctions. Human rights defenders have been arrested and prosecuted for their work, and defence lawyers intimidated,” she said.
The Mission has also documented arbitrary arrests and torture of individuals apprehended in the Russian-occupied Kherson region and transferred to Crimea.
“In addition, men who cross the administrative boundary line from mainland Ukraine to Crimea are subjected to so-called ‘filtration’ by the Russian Federal Security Service at checkpoints. According to credible reports received by our Mission, this exposes them to the risk of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment,” said Bogner.
“Crimean Tatars continue to face intimidation and harassment, police raids and house searches, and prosecution under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings, which often fall short of human rights standards. Furthermore, Crimean Tatar detainees continue to be deported to remote areas of the Russian Federation to serve their sentences,” she added.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine will continue to document and report the facts on the ground and the voices of victims. This was an essential part of seeking to prevent further violations and to hold those accountable for the violations already committed, Bogner said. More of the Mission’s findings on the impact of the armed attack by the Russian Federation on human rights in Ukraine will be included in the next report due to be issued on 27 September.
SHOTLIST:
TRT: 3:58
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 09.09. 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “ This is all the more worrying since we have documented that prisoners of war in the power of the Russian Federation and held by the Russian Federation’s armed forces or by affiliated armed groups have suffered torture and ill-treatment, and in some places of detention lack adequate food, water, healthcare and sanitation. We received information about a dire health situation in the penal colony in Olenivka, where many Ukrainian prisoners of war reportedly have been suffering from infectious diseases, including hepatitis A and tuberculosis. We have also documented many cases where Ukrainian prisoners of war have not been allowed to contact their relatives to tell them of their capture, their location and their health condition. This leaves families of captured soldiers desperate for information, deprived of their right to know what has happened to their loved ones. ”
- Wide shot podium
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “ We have also been following the cases of several pregnant prisoners of war interned in places controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. We urge the Russian Federation, as the detaining power, to consider the immediate release of these women on humanitarian grounds.”
- Close up camera
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “In Government-controlled territory, we have also documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, usually upon capture, during initial interrogations or transportation to camps for internment. Our Mission has been able to visit a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp. We note, however, that most prisoners of war continue to be held in penitentiary facilities, violating the rule that prisoners of war shall not be interned in close confinement.”
- Wide shot cameras and camera operator
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “ This includes restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and violations of the right to a fair trial, as well as lack of accountability for such human rights violations. We are concerned that patterns of human rights violations documented in Crimea since 2014 may be repeated in territory newly occupied by the Russian Federation across Ukraine.”
- Wide shot podium
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “Teachers in Crimea who refused to endorse the so-called – and I quote - “special military operation” face retaliation and sanctions. Human rights defenders have been arrested and prosecuted for their work, and defence lawyers intimidated. “
- Medium shot journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “In addition, men who cross the administrative boundary line from mainland Ukraine to Crimea are subjected to so-called ‘filtration’ by the Russian Federal Security Service at checkpoints. According to credible reports received by our Mission, this exposes them to the risk of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment. “
- Journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Matilda Bogner, Head of Human Rights Monitioring Mission in Ukraine : “Crimean Tatars continue to face intimidation and harassment, police raids and house searches, and prosecution under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings, which often fall short of human rights standards. Furthermore, Crimean Tatar detainees continue to be deported to remote areas of the Russian Federation to serve their sentences. “
- Various cutaways
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said today he was extremely concerned about the recent escalation in hostilities in northwest Syria, which further compounds the suffering endured by millions of civilians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , OCHA
Syria escalation: Civilians face deadly attacks, health care in distress and aid access compromised
The ongoing escalation of violence in northwest Syria linked to the wider conflict in Gaza and Lebanon has left civilians dead and injured, hospitals “overwhelmed” and attacks on healthcare on the rise, the UN warned on Tuesday.
2
1
4
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a glaring disregard for long-established international humanitarian law are set to leave a staggering 305 million people in need of lifesaving assistance next year, the UN’s top aid official warned on Wednesday.
Embargo Wednesday, 4 December 2024 at 0600 CET / 0000 ET
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Rights Office on Friday warned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine after further attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITU
An international panel has been set up to protect undersea communications cables that are crucial for international trade and security, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said on Friday. The creation of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience comes amid an ongoing investigation into the severing of two fibre optic cables in the Baltic Sea, in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | ITU
An estimated 5.5 billion people have access to the internet in 2024, an increase of 227 million people based on revised estimates for 2023, the UN specialized agency for telecommunications, ITU, said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Launch of World AIDS Day Report 2024—Take The Rights Path
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A joint report issued this morning by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paints a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk says.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, amid reports that the senior Israeli cabinet members were due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza