Dokumentation: Aktuelle Berichte und Wortmeldungen

A United Nations report on the human rights situation in Ukraine says that national and international help is urgently needed to cope with what could become a humanitarian emergency in the country. Presenting the report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ivan Šimonović, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said that a disastrous winter awaits thousands of people who have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine unless help arrives soon. The report covered the period from 21 November 2013 to 5 September 2014 and combines information on key human rights developments and concerns from five reports issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) between 15 April and 29 August 2014, using information from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The report said that armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has led to a dramatic increase in the number of internally displaced people (IDPs), with about half the population of Luhansk and one third of the population of Donetsk having fled. In one month, between early August and early September, the number of registered displaced people doubled. As of 18 September, 275,498 people were registered as IDPs. However, the actual number of unregistered internally displaced people may be two to three times higher. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 378,000 people have crossed the border into the Russian Federation in recent months. Šimonović said that, as of 21 September, the registered death toll from the crisis in Ukraine was 3,543, which includes the 298 victims of the Malaysian plane crash. He said this number covers killings registered only by available sources and that the actual number is likely to be significantly higher. The report showed a sharp rise in killings, in particular between mid-July and the end of August. Between mid-April and mid-July, human rights monitors registered that at least 11 people, on average, were being killed every day. Between mid-July and mid-August that figure had more than tripled to an average of 36 people being killed each day. By the 5 September ceasefire an average of 42 people were killed every day. After the signing of the ceasefire agreement, there has been a marked decrease in killings, with the daily average now below 10 killings a day. The report also said that the Ukrainian Government must ensure that all allegations of human rights abuses and violations are fully investigated and that all international human rights norms and standards, including the presumption of innocence, due process and judicial guarantees, are strictly adhered to with regard to violations committed by both armed groups and the Ukrainian military or their volunteer battalions. It says that perpetrators of serious violations of international law during the conflict must be brought to justice in order to guarantee individual accountability for actions, including in cases of command responsibility. Šimonović said that many victims of human rights abuses by both government and armed groups are afraid to come forward for fear of reprisals. He also said that everyone in Ukraine has the right to due process and equality before the law and added that, in that context, the new counter-terrorism laws are a matter of concern. The laws substantially expand the authority of the prosecutor and lengthen the time of preventive detention from 60 hours to 30 days, which Šimonović noted it is inconsistent with international human rights standards.

Quelle: "A United Nations report on the human rights situation in Ukraine says that national and international help is urgently needed to cope with what could become a humanitarian emergency in the country", UNIFEED-UNTV, Posted at: September 23, 2014 4:40 pm, Externer Link: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/2014/09/geneva-ukraine-hrc-2/

Lesetipp: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, 19 September 2014, Externer Link: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/27/75

Amnesty International: Keine Amnestie für Folter durch beiden Seiten des Konflikts

Ukraine: No amnesty for torture committed by either side in the conflict (press release, 22.09.2014)

An amnesty bill passed by the Ukrainian parliament on 16 September 2014 and expected to be signed into law by President Petro Poroshenko soon, should not become a vehicle for denying the right of victims to justice. The law has been passed as part of the Ukrainian government’s efforts to bring to an end the conflict in the east of the country. It proposes waiving criminal responsibility for crimes committed by ‘armed formations’ from 22 February 2014 onwards, and lists a number of serious crimes to which the amnesty will not be extended. However, the parliament-approved bill does not include torture and other ill-treatment in this list of exceptions. Amnesty International has documented numerous incidents of torture and other ill-treatment being used against captives by members of separatist armed groups, as well as of pro-Ukrainian forces in east Ukraine. The organization has repeatedly called for such abuses to be promptly, impartially and thoroughly investigated to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in accordance with Ukraine’s obligations under international law. The Ukrainian government must ensure that perpetrators of all gross abuses of human rights and all acts carried out in the context of the fighting that amounted to crimes under international law, including war crimes and other grave abuses of human rights or international humanitarian, are held accountable, and that full reparation is awarded to victims and their families. International law prohibits amnesties or similar measures for acts carried out in the context of a conflict that amounts to crimes under international law, including grave abuses of human rights or international humanitarian law, and which prevent the emergence of the truth, a final judicial determination of guilt or innocence, and full reparation for the victims. Anyone who is reasonably suspected of being responsible for such crimes, including those in positions of command who knew or should have known that those under their command were committing or had committed such crimes and did not take all measures in their power to prevent, suppress or report such crimes, must be investigated and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, be prosecuted and brought to trial in proceedings which comply with international law and standards on fair trial. Amnesty International strongly urges President Poroshenko to ensure that before he signs the bill, it is amended to include torture and other grave human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in its list of crimes which will not be covered by the amnesty. Until this is done, the bill will only serve to facilitate the perpetuation of abuses by both sides to the conflict, endorse impunity for the perpetrators and deny justice to the victims.

Quelle: Amnesty International Public Statement, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR50/041/2014/en/25239afa-992 f-4a47-a256-0f72656e9db0/eur500412014en.pdf

Erklärung der ukrainischen und russischen Medienorganisationen zur Medienfreiheit

Statement by Ukrainian and Russian media organizations adopted following a meeting at the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (26.09.2014)

Representatives of media organizations of Ukraine (the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine) and the Russian Federation (the Russian Union of Journalists) condemned the incidents of killing, beating and detention of journalists in the zone of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine during a meeting at the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in Vienna on 26 September 2014. Since May 2014, journalists Andrea Rocchelli, Andrey Mironov, Anton Voloshin, Igor Kornelyuk, Anatoliy Klyan and Andrey Stenin have been killed. Dozens of journalists have been detained, among them Yury Lelyavsky, Roman Cheremsky, Valeriy Makeyev, Yegor Vorobyov, Alexander Bilokobylsky and Sergei Sakadynsky who are still being held captive. Dozens of media workers face difficulties while performing their professional duties. Representatives of media organizations of Ukraine and Russia consider unacceptable the obstruction of journalists carrying out their professional duties and call for an immediate investigation of the facts concerning the deaths of all journalists and for an immediate release of all detained media workers. Participants in the meeting agreed to continue the joint meetings and cooperation and to undertake the necessary efforts regarding matters such as the safety of journalists, the development of professional media and de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Vienna, 26 September 2014

Quelle: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Externer Link: http://www.osce.org/fom/124537?download=true

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