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	Across Ukraine, the rights to life, liberty and security are under attack by Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, agencies   May 2022   Ukraine: Update to the Human Rights Council Special Session: Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   Thank you for this opportunity to update the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Ukraine. This follows my last oral update to the Council on 30 March, and my briefing to the United Nations Security Council on 5 May.   My Office continues to verify allegations of violations of international human rights law and of international humanitarian law, many of which may amount to war crimes. Since the fourth day of the Russian Federation’s armed attack in Ukraine, my Office has been publishing daily updates on civilian casualties. We have consistently stressed that actual figures are likely considerably higher, as our figures only refer to those cases that we have been able to verify.   In areas of intense hostilities – notably, Mariupol – it has been difficult for my staff to gain access and obtain and corroborate information.   The pattern of causes of civilian casualties that my Office has been recording in Ukraine has not significantly changed since the last time I briefed this body. The vast majority continue to be caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, such as shelling from heavy artillery, including multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.   According to our information, while such incidents can be attributed to both parties to the conflict, most of these casualties appear attributable to the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups.   Last week, my Monitoring Mission in Ukraine visited 14 towns and villages in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions which, until the end of March, were controlled by Russian armed forces. My team heard first-hand accounts of relatives, neighbours and friends being killed, injured, detained and disappeared. This was the second OHCHR visit to these regions, and it pains me to imagine how many visits will be needed to document only a fraction of the egregious human rights violations that have occurred there.   To date, over 1,000 civilian bodies have been recovered in the Kyiv region alone. Some of these people were killed in hostilities, others appear to have been summarily executed. Others still have died because of stress to their health caused by hostilities and the lack of medical aid. They have spent weeks in basements being threatened by Russian soldiers with abuse or death if they tried to leave, thereby placing these individuals at severe risk from the hostilities.   In the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv region, 360 residents, including 74 children and 5 persons with disabilities, were forced by Russian armed forces to stay for 28 days in the basement of a school that they were using as their base. The basement was extremely overcrowded. People had to sit for days without an opportunity to lie down. There were no toilet facilities, water or ventilation. 10 older people died.   The scale of unlawful killings, including indicia of summary executions in areas to the north of Kyiv is shocking. While we have information about 300 such killings, the figures will continue to increase as new evidence becomes available. These killings of civilians often appeared to be intentional, carried out by snipers and soldiers. Civilians were killed when crossing the road or leaving their shelters to seek food and water. Others were killed as they fled in their vehicles.   Unarmed local men were killed because Russian soldiers suspected them of supporting Ukrainian forces or otherwise being a potential threat, and some were tortured before being killed. In the village of Katiuzhanka, Kyiv region, a young couple, their 14-year old daughter and a grandfather were shot by Russian soldiers while trying to drive to their house. The parents were killed, while the child received two gunshot wounds.   To date we have recorded destruction or damage to hundreds of educational and medical facilities, and tens of thousands civilian houses, as a result of the hostilities. Throughout the country, at least 50 Christian, Jewish and Muslim places of worship of different denominations have been damaged; more than half of these have been severely damaged and cannot be used.   The city of Mariupol and its residents have suffered unimaginable horrors since the Russian Federation’s armed attack started. I am shocked at the scale of the destruction, and the numerous violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that have reportedly been committed in the city, including attacks against civilians and civilian objects. A once flourishing city lies in ruins. We estimate the civilian death toll in Mariupol to lie in the thousands, while only with time will the true scale of atrocities, casualties and damage become clear..   I am concerned by allegations of sexual violence that have emerged from areas in the Kyiv region that were formerly under the control of Russian armed forces. There were instances of rape and murder of victims or their relatives. Survivors are often unwilling to be interviewed because of fear and stigma.   The only way to bring a stop to further violations is to end the hostilities. That must remain the primary objective. However, while hostilities continue and for as long as they last, all parties must give clear instructions to their combatants to protect civilians and persons hors de combat, as well as to distinguish between civilian and military objects.   Those in command of armed forces must make it clear to their members that anyone found to have been involved in such violations will be prosecuted and held accountable.   I urge all parties to the conflict to fully respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including to investigate all allegations of violations, and above all to commit to protecting every civilian woman, man and child and those hors de combat. Our common humanity demands no less.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/07/ukraine-high-commissioner-updates-human-rights-council http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2022/05/ukraine-update-human-rights-council-special-session http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/05/human-rights-council-adopts-resolution-deteriorating-human-rights-situation http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/05/1118072 http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-dozens-dead-and-injured-un-condemns-utterly-deplorable-shopping-centre-attack http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/new-report-un-human-rights-shows-shocking-toll-war-ukraine-enruuk   8 Apr. 2022   In eastern Ukraine, a reported Russian missile attack on a railway station that’s killed dozens of civilians including children, has been condemned by the United Nations. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, that the strike - and others against civilians and civilian infrastructure - were "gross violations" of international law.   Mr. Guterres said the strike on the Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine, which killed and injured scores of civilians waiting to be evacuated, "including many women, children and elderly", was "completely unacceptable."   The statement issued by his Spokesperson went on to remind "all parties of their obligations under international law to protect civilians, and of the urgency to agree on humanitarian ceasefires in order to enable the safe evacuation of, and humanitarian access to, populations trapped in conflict.   "The Secretary-General reiterates his appeal to all concerned to bring an immediate end to this brutal war."   In an earlier statement, on Friday, UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, Amin Awad, said that many had suffered terrible injuries at the railway station and that the number of fatalities was likely to rise.   “It was widely reported over the last two days that the station and surrounding area had been full of civilians attempting to flee intensifying hostilities,” Mr. Awad said in a statement. “We are extremely disturbed by the reports of children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities – the most vulnerable people in the Kramatorsk area – who were caught up in this attack.”   Mr. Awad said the use of explosive weapons, "with wide area impact in populated areas is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. All military forces, in all conflicts, must not carry out attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. They must do their utmost to protect civilians."   He added that hospitals in the surrounding area were now full of casualties: "We and our humanitarian partners are ready to do anything we can to help those who are responding to the attack and those who have survived.   "We continue to call on all the parties to this conflict to allow safe and unimpeded passage for people who wish to leave, to prevent attacks on essential transportation for civilians, and for life-saving relief supplies to reach those unable to move or evacuate."   The UN Children's Fund Ukraine Representative, Murat Sahin, said that the train station had been the main route out for thousands of families evacuating from Donetsk region, "which has seen some of the war’s worst destruction", to relatively safer areas in Ukraine.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115842 http://www.nrc.no/news/2022/april/ukraine-ingo-statement-on-the-targeting-of-civilians-and-civilian-infrastructure/ http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/every-day-war-continues-children-will-continue-suffer   4 Apr. 2022   Ukraine says bodies of 410 civilians found near Kyiv, witnesses traumatised. (Reuters, AP, agencies)   Ukraine has found 410 bodies in towns near Kyiv as part of an investigation into possible war crimes by Russia but some witnesses are so traumatised by their ordeal that they are unable to speak, the country's top prosecutor said on Sunday.   After Russia withdrew from some areas around Kyiv, the mayor in Bucha, a liberated town 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, said that 300 residents had been killed by Russian forces while Chechen fighters controlled the area.   Russia has denied the allegations that its troops killed civilians in Bucha.   Ukrainian prosecutors were only able to enter the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel for the first time on Sunday and they need more time to work out the extent of the crimes, Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova said. "We need to work with witnesses," Venedyktova said. "People today are so stressed that they are physically unable to speak."   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: "Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets. Mined areas. Even the bodies of the dead were mined."   Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said it was clear hundreds of civilians had been killed, but that he did not want to say exactly how many there were, as efforts were still under way to clear mines in the area.   BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities accused the departing forces on Sunday of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a horror movie.”   Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital. One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been killed at close range.   A satellite image of the grounds of the Church of St Andrew Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha has revealed a mass grave in a trench about 14 metres long.   AFP reporters say they saw at least 20 bodies on a single street in the town of Bucha near Kyiv. "All these people were shot," Bucha's mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP, adding that 280 other bodies had been buried in mass graves in the town.   As images of the bodies of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately emerged from Bucha, international condemnation of the atrocities was swift and widespread.   United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an independent investigation into alleged killings in Bucha - the town near Kyiv where bodies were found discarded on a road.   "I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine.. It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability."   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on bodies in town of Bucha in Ukraine: "I am horrified by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine.   Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law.   It is essential that all bodies are exhumed and identified so that victims’ families can be informed, and the exact causes of death established. All measures should be taken to preserve evidence.   It is vital that all efforts are made to ensure there are independent and effective investigations into what happened in Bucha to ensure truth, justice and accountability, as well as reparations and remedy for victims and their families".   Ongoing violence is still widespread with Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has seen some of the war’s greatest suffering, remaining cut off. Some 100,000 civilians are believed to be trapped there with little or no food, water, fuel and medicine.   The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that a team sent Saturday to help evacuate residents had yet to reach the city. Ukrainian authorities said Russia agreed days ago to allow safe passage from the city, but similar agreements have broken down repeatedly under continued shelling.   The mayor of Chernihiv, which has also been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies for weeks, said that relentless Russian shelling has destroyed 70% of the northern city. The Russian invasion has left left thousands dead and forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country.   http://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/ukraine-protecting-life-must-be-priority-un-human-rights-experts http://www.icrc.org/en/document/ukraine-safe-passage-civilians-mariupol-halted-second-day-icrc-calls-parties-agree-specific http://www.msf.org/human-dignity-and-life-must-be-respected-besieged-mariupol-ukraine http://www.hrw.org/tag/russia-ukraine-war http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/latest-news-on-russias-war-on-ukraine/   30 Mar. 2022   Update to the UN Human Rights Council on Ukraine, by Michelle Bachelet.   The Council has received the report on Ukraine covering the period from 1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022 pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/22. As the context has dramatically shifted since then, my statement today will focus on the human rights and humanitarian crisis that has unfolded since the Russian armed attack began on 24 February.   For more than one month now, the entire population of Ukraine has been enduring a living nightmare. The lives of millions of people are in upheaval as they are forced to flee their homes or hide in basements and bomb shelters as their cities are pummeled and destroyed.   I echo the Secretary-General’s words that “continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical.”   The hostilities must stop, without delay. Today, I call on the Russian Federation to heed the clear and strong calls of the General Assembly and of this Council, and immediately act to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.   In the five weeks since the conflict began, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has recorded at least 1,189 deaths of civilian men, women and children and at least 1,901 injuries. We know the actual figures are likely far higher. In many places of intensive hostilities, such as Mariupol and Volnovakha, it is very challenging to obtain a comprehensive picture.   The persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas is of immense concern. These weapons include missiles, heavy artillery shells and rockets, and airstrikes, causing massive destruction of and damage to civilian objects. In addition, my Office has received credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times. We are also investigating allegations that Ukrainian armed forces have used such weapons.   Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electricity systems have not been spared. To date we have verified 77 incidents in which medical facilities were damaged to various degrees, including 50 hospitals, 7 psycho-neurological facilities and 20 other medical facilities. Overall, 55 medical establishments were damaged, 10 destroyed, and two were looted. Actual numbers are again likely to be considerably higher, and reports of additional incidents are being corroborated by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission.   Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. The massive destruction of civilian objects and the high number of civilian casualties strongly indicate that the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution have not been sufficiently adhered to.   Civilians are enduring immeasurable suffering, and the humanitarian crisis is critical. In many areas across the country, people urgently need medical supplies, food, water, shelter and basic household items.   Above all, they need the bombs to cease, and the weapons to fall silent.   In several besieged cities, my Office has noted a significant increase in mortality rates among civilians that can be attributed to disrupted medical care coupled with conflict-related deprivation and stress.   As one woman from Kyiv told my colleagues: “I cannot imagine the situation of people with diabetes, or those undergoing cancer treatment, for whom it is critical to regularly take medications.”   People with disabilities and older people face a particularly appalling humanitarian situation. Long-term care facilities are suffering a lack of food, heating, electricity, water and medication. Many residents who have chronic health conditions rely on others for care and are struggling to access bomb shelters or safe areas. At least one facility for bedridden patients and other people with disabilities, mostly older people, came under fire while its residents were inside, with dozens of alleged casualties. My colleagues in Ukraine are working to establish the fate and whereabouts of survivors. Moreover, displaced people with disabilities, now staying at poorly equipped temporary facilities, often lack access to health care and rehabilitation services.   Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian armed forces have carried out attacks and military strikes on and near large cities, including Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sievierodonetsk, Sumy, and Mariupol, and the capital, Kyiv.   In the besieged city of Mariupol, people are living in sheer terror. The situation is worsening by the day, with constant shelling, fighting in the streets and people struggling to survive with the bare minimum of life’s necessities including food, water and medical supplies.   We are looking into allegations that some Mariupol residents have been forcibly evacuated, either to territory controlled by Russian-affiliated armed groups or to the Russian Federation.   Across Ukraine, the rights to life, liberty and security are under attack. Detention of civilians who are vocal about their pro-Ukrainian views in territories under control of Russian forces has become widespread. My Office has also received allegations of killings of two civilians considered to be affiliated with Russian armed forces or supporting pro-Russian views. There are reports of up to 350 conflict-related detentions by Ukrainian law enforcement officers including four cases where the individuals’ relatives received no information regarding their formal arrest, place of detention or their fate. Furthermore, I am very concerned by the abundance of videos available through open sources depicting interrogations of prisoners of war that have been taken by both Ukrainian and Russian forces.   We have also received some allegations of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, and have been working to corroborate them.   Additionally, freedom of expression is under threat. Every day, many journalists are courageously fighting a crucial battle against mounting misinformation and propaganda, often putting their own lives at great risk. Seven journalists and media workers have been killed since hostilities began, and another 15 have come under armed attack, nine of whom were injured. We have also documented the arbitrary detention and the possible enforced disappearance of 22 journalists and civil society activists who have been vocal against the invasion in Kyiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.   I underscore that independent, objective reporting of the facts on the ground is absolutely vital to counter the harmful spread of misinformation and propaganda.   The devastating consequences of this war are being felt far outside Ukraine’s borders. Nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population have been forced to flee - over 4 million people have fled the country since the attack began, and an estimated 6.5 million are internally displaced.   It is encouraging to see the outpouring of support offered to refugees by Ukraine’s neighbours and other countries around the world. I reiterate that it is essential to extend such welcome to all who have fled, without discrimination. I also urge destination countries to provide particular protection to women and children, many of whom face risks of human trafficking, including sexual and labour exploitation.   Additionally, a rise in Russophobia has been observed in a number of countries. My Office continues to monitor this closely.   As the war approaches its sixth week, I reiterate my calls for States to respect and uphold international humanitarian and human rights law. I urge humanitarian assistance to be delivered safely and effectively. All civilians must be protected and those who wish to leave must be provided safe passage in the direction they choose. And prisoners of war must be treated with dignity and full respect for their rights.   The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine will continue its vital monitoring role. Despite the very difficult security context, staff in various parts of the country continue to document civilian casualties, the impact of hostilities and violations of human rights. I take this opportunity to thank all who are working to assist the people of Ukraine.   Every day, my colleagues are listening to the heartbreaking stories of Ukrainians whose lives have been shattered by these brutal attacks. Just last week, they asked a simple question to a displaced man from a town in eastern Ukraine – “where are you from?” His reply: “I am from Izium, a city that no longer exists.”   The terror and agony of the Ukrainian people is palpable and is being felt around the world. They want the war to stop, and to return to peace, safety and human dignity. It is long past time to heed their call.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/03/update-human-rights-council-ukraine http://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2022/03/17/armed-conflict-in-ukraine-a-recap-of-basic-ihl-rules/ http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/six-million-children-trapped-ukraine-face-grave-danger-attacks-schools-and-hospitals http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-half-ukraines-children-displaced-after-one-month-war   * OCHA Humanitarian updates: http://bit.ly/3ClCh5g http://reliefweb.int/country/ukr Visit the related web page
	Red Cross urgently appeals to states to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used by Helen Durham Director of Law and Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed by recent statements made with respect to nuclear weapons.   Five years ago this month, as States were beginning the negotiations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the ICRC recalled that "nuclear weapons are the most terrifying weapon ever invented. They are unique in their destructive power, in the unspeakable human suffering they cause, and in the impossibility of controlling their effects in space and time. They threaten irreversible harm to the environment and to future generations. Indeed, they threaten the very survival of humanity."   The ICRC and the Japanese Red Cross Society witnessed first-hand the suffering and devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 as humanitarian personnel attempted, in near-impossible conditions, to assist the dying and injured. We cannot allow a repetition of this dark part of our past.   We know that a nuclear explosion would cause insurmountable challenges to humanitarian assistance. No State or humanitarian organization is prepared to respond to the enormous needs that a nuclear explosion would create. What we cannot prepare for, what we cannot respond to, we must prevent.   It is extremely doubtful that nuclear weapons could ever be used in accordance with the principles and rules of international humanitarian law.   The only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons are never used again is by prohibiting and eliminating them. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, of which the ICRC is a part, has repeatedly expressed its deep alarm at the increasing risk that nuclear weapons will again be used by intent, miscalculation or accident and stressed that any risk of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, given their catastrophic humanitarian consequences.   The introduction of nuclear weapons renders armed conflicts significantly more dangerous and risks a global conflagration in which humanity will suffer irreparably. This is a wake-up call and a call for utmost caution.   States must now heed the Movement's call on all States to promptly sign, ratify or accede to, and faithfully implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Pending their elimination, all States and, in particular, the nuclear possessors and nuclear-allied States must take immediate steps to reduce the risk of intentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons, based on their existing international commitments.   In 2022, the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the 10th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will provide key opportunities, but also tests, for States to make tangible progress towards achieving nuclear disarmament, a legal obligation of the international community as a whole.   Seldom have collective action and concrete, meaningful steps to free the world of the dark shadow of nuclear weapons been more urgent.   http://www.icrc.org/en/document/icrc-appeals-nuclear-weapons-never-used/ Visit the related web page
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