UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC 63 - Human Rights in Ukraine

Which is Gracias Senor Visa Presidente Excellences, Distinguished delegates.

The war in Ukraine is a human rights catastrophe that is growing and intensifying by the weak, causing unfathomable pain to civilians and threatening an even greater disaster across the entire region.

We need urgent action to end it in line with the United Nations Charter and international law.

Against the backdrop of unseizing brutality, our recent report found shocking levels of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war.

The Russian Federation is using these abhorrent acts to torture, intimidate and coerce individuals and communities.

Of more than 1000 cases documented by my office, 89% were attributed to the Russian authorities and 11% to Ukraine.

Most of the victims of sexual violence were men, particularly in places of detention, but women and children were also affected, primarily in occupied territory of Ukraine.

This is just one terrible manifestation of the cruelty that has come to define this war.

Alongside peace, there must be accountability.

The full scale invasion unleashed by the Russian Federation is killing and injuring hundreds of people every week as front lines barely move.

Apartment buildings, schools, medical centres, railways, seaports, gas stations, shops and logistics and telecommunication companies have been hit in recent attacks.

The Russian Federation, as the aggressor, is inflicting immense suffering on Ukrainians.

The Russian leadership should also consider what this war is doing to their own society, which is sinking deeper into fear, denial and a militarised economy that puts death and destruction ahead of healthcare and education.

I'm shocked by the lack of empathy at display.

Continuous escalation is creating a vortex of vengeance and reprisals that will have terrible consequences for people and communities for decades to come.

Mr Vice President, across Ukraine people are living in constant dread.

Air raid alerts in Kiev were active for 33 hours during 148 hour period earlier this week as missiles and drones rained down on the city.

During the first eight months of this year, we verified some 15,280 civilians killed and injured on average more than 400 every week for 34 weeks.

This is 50% more than during the same.

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On 19 September, for example, Russian long range drone attacks killed 4 civilians, including three children, in the Kiev region.

On 12 and 13 September, 1 civilian was killed and 63 injured in attacks involving missiles and drones in the Odessa region.

The number of civilian casualties in the Russian Federation has reportedly also increased.

During the night of 19 to 20 September, the Russian authorities reported that three people were killed and 41 injured in a major missile and drone attack in the Moscow region.

My office is unable to verify these reports fully.

The authorities have not granted us access.

Short range drones kill and injure civilians, prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid and restrict freedom of movement.

Long range drones are constantly expanding their reach and a threat they pose to civilians.

Ukraine is a laboratory for drone warfare, and we need urgent steps at the international level to deal with the carnage wrought by these weapons systems around the world.

That the situation near the front lines is of particular concern.

Civilian casualties are at very high levels, caused by drone attacks, aerial bombardment, shelling and systems that launch multiple rockets, devastating an entire area in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumi and Zaporishia regions.

The use of aerial glide bombs by the Russian Federation has driven a significant increase in civilian deaths and injuries.

In the first eight months of this year, these weapons killed and injured nearly 2500 civilians.

60% sixty, 2% more than during the same period last year.

An estimated 2000 people are trapped in Oleski in desperate conditions without running water, electricity or gas.

Food deliveries have been severely disrupted and the hospital is running out of fuel to run its generators.

Mr Vice President, attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial property have increased sharply in clear disregard of international humanitarian law.

Russian attacks on supermarkets and food companies are are already creating temporary shortages of vegetables and dairy products in some areas.

Damage to power plants causes outages that affect water pumping stations, and Russian forces have repeatedly attacked transportation infrastructure including railways, ports, border crossings and gas stations across Ukraine.

As winter approaches, Ukrainians fear the worst is yet to come.

Inside the Russian Federation, Ukrainian forces have reportedly struck warehouses and logistics centres belonging to major e-commerce companies, along with oil refineries.

Russia's continued attempts to incorporate the the Ukrainian territory it occupies, most recently by holding elections there earlier this month, are another blatant violation of international law.

I'm alarmed by human rights violations linked to the presence of fighters from third countries in the war.

My staff have interviewed prisoners of war from 36 countries who are held by Ukraine.

Many said they were deceived into joining the Russian forces.

Meanwhile, the massive use of explosives and mines is polluting ecosystems and creating new environmental risks.

We do not yet know the full impact of toxic chemicals on land, rivers and lakes, but it is clear that today's reckless war mongers are oblivious to the harm they are causing future generations.

Mr Vice President, the conduct of this war to date cannot be allowed to dictate its future.

We need a decisive shift towards de escalation and peace.

Rebuilding momentum towards negotiations is key.

This calls for confidence building measures based on human rights that could reduce the impact of hostilities on civilians.

Such measures could include an agreement to end attacks on economic targets and energy infrastructure, local cease fires on the front lines enabling civilians to leave Oleszki, and a full exchange of prisoners of war, respecting the principle of Nora Fulmand.

These steps can be a basis for renewed efforts towards peace grounded in human rights and in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.

We stand in solidarity with the civilians who are bearing the brunt of this war.

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I say this war is serving no one apart from a powerful elite, especially those with financial ties to the military.

It's continuation will only lead to more shattered families and greater misery for ordinary people.

To Ukrainians, I say we're doing everything possible to support peace with justice and accountability.

To the international community and particularly states with influence, I say please take urgent action and to push for a negotiated peace now, before this tragedy becomes even worse.

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President, Ukraine thanks the High Commissioner for his oral update and for presenting the thematic report on conflict related sexual violence, which sheds light on deeply sensitive and important issues and provides credible, independently verified information on the situation.

Its finding are devastating.

During the reporting period, OHCHR verified 200, excuse me, 892 cases of conflict related sexual violence perpetrated by Russian Federation authorities, including against 725 men, 151 women, 14 girls and two boys.

Behind every figure is human being.

Unfortunately, thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war, political prisoners, and unlawfully detained civilians remain in Russian captivity.

OHCHR has documented the use of sexual violence as torture, intimidation and coercion, while Russia has taken no visible steps to prevent, investigate or prosecute such crimes.

Russia must provide access to all Ukrainian prisoners and ensure their release.

Mr High Commissioner, Ukraine remains open to all UN monitoring mechanisms.

We provide access to relevant institutions, information and places of detention of prisoners of war.

We are determined to uphold 0 tolerance for violations under the 2627 UN Ukraine Implementation Plan.

Together with UN mechanisms and the OECE, we are strengthening 0 tolerance policies on sexual violence and harassment across the security and defence sector, enhancing training and awareness the advancing legislative changes.

Every violation must be documented and investigated, regardless of the perpetrator's status.

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President, sexual violence is not the only one dimension of the suffering caused by Russia's war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian civilians continue to be killed and injured every day.

From 1st to 24th September alone, OHCCHR verified at least 200 civilians killed and 1234 injured.

Kiev has come under repeated Russian attacks this month.

On 25th September Russian strike killed 7 people, including 14 years old boy.

28 September attacks injured 24 people, including three children and killed a woman.

30th September another attack killed two people.

On 1st October Russian drone struck A Kiev school where while more than 100 children and over 60 teachers were sheltering inside.

Last night Russia damaged the southern bridge in Kiev and disrupted movement for hundreds of thousands of residents.

This morning a Russian strike hit a 25 Storey residential building in Kiev and killed one person.

These are combined by Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, making the approaching winter an additional humanitarian challenge.

This week Kiev already experienced the disruption to electricity and water supplies.

For Ukrainians, winter is not simply a season, it is another test of survival, tests created by Russia.

The situation is even more desperate in the territories under Russian occupation.

In Oleszki, around 2000 civilians, including nearly fifty children, remain trapped without adequate food, water, electricity or medical care.

We call on the international community, the UN and humanitarian organisation to act urgently to secure humanitarian access and save evacuation.

Oleski cannot be forgotten and it's civilians cannot be left at the mercy of the occupying Russian forces.

Dear partners, we need your support.

We need your support to protect civilians, strengthen air defence, support survivors and evacuation efforts, protect civilian infrastructure and ensure accountability.

There must be no normalisation of civilian deaths, no impunity for sexual violence, no weaponization of hunger, darkness or winter.

Russia must stop its war against Ukraine, withdraw its forces, comply with international law and be accountable for the suffering it has caused.

Ukraine will remember every victim and we will continue to work for justice.

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HRC 63 - Human Rights in Ukraine – 2 October 2026