Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif Briefing On Ukraine To The Human Rights Council

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

As we approach three years since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, progress towards a peaceful resolution remains elusive, as we witness a dangerous escalation of hostilities.

September in fact marked the highest number of civilian casualties since July 2022.

This is confirmed in the latest report by the Office that we issued for the period of 1 September to 30 November last year, which documents continued and increasing gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of humanitarian law, including possible war crimes.

During the period covered by the report, Russian armed forces intensified their operations to capture further territory in eastern Ukraine, with a severe impact on civilians in frontline areas, particularly in the Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Relentless attacks with aerial glide bombs, long-range missiles, and drones contributed to the killing of some 574 civilians – an increase of 30 percent over the previous year.

Russian bombardment damaged civilian infrastructure and water, heating and transportation services, including four major attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since mid-November.

During this period, Russian authorities also reported civilian casualties in Kursk and other regions of the Russian Federation resulting from attacks by the Ukrainian military.

Since February 2022, this conflict has killed more than 12,300 civilians, including over 650 children, and injured more than 27,800. Over seven hundred medical facilities and 1,500 schools and colleges have also been damaged or destroyed.

Mr. President, Excellencies,

We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons during the reporting period.

Russian armed forces launched some 2000 long-range drones in November alone, killing scores of people.

They also increased the use of aerial bombs with glide modifications that allow them to travel much farther, in densely populated areas, including Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia.

So-called First-Person-View drones killed some 35 civilians and seriously injured dozens in the Ukraine-controlled part of Kherson, despite cameras that should allow operators to distinguish between civilians and combatants.

We are also concerned about the potential increased use of anti-personnel landmines, due to the threats they pose to civilians, both now and long into the future.

I am deeply concerned by a significant increase in credible allegations of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by Russian armed forces. Summary executions constitute a war crime. The Office recorded 62 such executions in 19 separate incidents during the reporting period and we have verified 5 of these incidents.

Overall, since the start of the full-scale armed conflict, OHCHR has verified the execution of 68 Ukrainian service personnel captured by Russian armed forces.

The Office also verified the killing by First-Person-View drones of one Ukrainian and three Russian military personnel who were severely wounded on the battlefield.

Also verified is the summary execution of 170 civilians since 24 February 2022 in areas controlled by Russian armed forces, including in places of detention.

Accountability for all of these killings is essential. Instead, there is almost total impunity.

OHCHR continues to document torture of prisoners of war at the hands of both Russian and Ukrainian armed forces – a violation of international law.

Ukrainian prisoners of war, both men and women, described widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment, including severe beatings, electric shocks, strangulation, and prolonged solitary confinement. Most reported being subjected to sexual violence, including rape and forced nudity.

Russian prisoners of war held by Ukraine told our staff they had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, from severe beatings to sexual violence and dog attacks, mostly in places of transit before reaching official places of internment.

Our Office has documented the death of one Russian prisoner of war and has raised these allegations with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

Information gathered by the Office also indicates that Russia continues to implement its own legal and governance measures in the areas of Ukraine it occupies – in violation of international humanitarian law.

Since February 2022, the Office has documented the deaths of 29 civilian detainees who were held in Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine or transferred to the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roschchyna reportedly died in Russian custody during the reporting period, and the Office also verified reports of two more deaths in Russian detention.

The Russian authorities prosecuted people for expressing their opinions, particularly those critical of the Russian armed forces. One Ukrainian woman was convicted for posting a photo of blue and yellow sweets on social media.

The prosecution of members of certain religious communities in relation to their exercise of religion has also continued. At least four Jehovah’s Witnesses were indicted on criminal charges, while a Muslim organization was de-registered and fined.

Russian property laws in the occupied territory of Ukraine create procedures for expropriating the homes of people who have fled, in violation of international humanitarian law. These laws effectively compel homeowners to obtain Russian passports in order to maintain their property rights.

The Russian authorities also intensified efforts to compel children to demonstrate loyalty to the Russian State, and continued to incorporate military training and nationalistic Russian perspectives into education and recreational activities.

In Ukraine, legal amendments prohibit activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, and of Ukrainian religious organizations affiliated with counterparts in the Russian Federation, also raising concerns as to freedom of religion and belief.

Excellencies,

The war in Ukraine cannot be seen in isolation. Beyond the vast and continued suffering in Ukraine itself, it is inextricably linked with events well beyond the immediate battlefield, with a debilitating impact on the exercise of human rights around the world. It has indeed undermined global norms and standards and it is eroding respect for international law.

Through our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, OHCHR is playing an essential part in resisting the strong pushback against human rights on the ground and standing up for the fundamental rights of ordinary people.

Recording the facts is one of the most important ways in which the international community can counter disinformation and ensure accountability, for the purposes of prevention and, in time, justice.

I welcome the access and cooperation provided by Ukraine, and I regret that the Russian Federation has not so far granted us such access.

In the face of continued grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of human rights:

I call on the Russian authorities to halt the summary executions of Ukrainian Prisoners of War, to condemn such acts, and to prosecute those responsible. I urge those in authority on both sides to take immediate steps to end the use of torture against Prisoners of War, and to prosecute those responsible.

I urge the Russian Federation also to meet its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law in the territory of Ukraine it occupies.

And I urge the entire international community to act to ensure respect for all their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.

Ukrainians, like people everywhere, have a right to peace.

It is time, and beyond time, for this war to end.

I call on the parties to the conflict, and all those with influence on them, to step up efforts to create a path to peace in line with GA resolutions, anchored in human rights, respect for the United Nations Charter and international law.

Thank you.

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