32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council

Agenda item 3

Clustered interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur

on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

 

Intervention by Permanent Representative of Ukraine (country concerned)

Ambassador Yurii Klymenko

 

June 20, 2016

 

Mr. President,

We welcome conducting this dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions as a good opportunity to discuss some of his views and conclusions reflected in the report upon his visit to Ukraine last September.

Mr. Heyns, during the previous dialogue with you held in this room last March, the Ukrainian delegation expressed our grave concerns over the numerous violations of the Ukrainian citizens` rights, including the right to life, committed on a daily basis by the Russian occupying authorities in Crimea and by the Russian military and their proxies in Donbas. We also expressed our hope for having your objective report.

We appreciate including some of the Government of Ukraine’s comments in the document but regret to note missing important information that is crucial for understanding real reasons of ongoing violations of the human rights, including the right to life, in certain areas of Ukraine. These reasons are the illegal occupation and the attempted annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation as well as Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.

The report`s background should, in our view, have been based on the credible UN sources, including OHCHR reports. We strongly believe that some “alternative” interpretation of the events is not a task of the Special Rapporteur mandate.

We would like to remind in this regard the last OHCHR report that reflects “the influx of foreign fighters, including citizens of the Russian Federation, ammunition and heavy weaponry into east Ukraine from across the border with the Russian Federation” since spring 2014. In our view, these factors as well as an increasing number of Russian mercenaries, presence of which has also not been reflected in Mr. Heyns` report, significantly contribute to destabilization and deterioration of human rights situation in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as in Crimea.

We couldn`t also help noticing the absence in the Note by the Secretariat accompanying the report of the slightest mentioning of the situation in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. This «misprint», in our view, doesn`t give in the first place the right impression of the report on the visit to Ukraine, an integral part of which Crimea is.

We completely agree with your, Mr. Heyns, recommendation that “the human rights situation in Crimea must remain under the scrutiny of international monitoring bodies”. Just one detail – Ukraine is open, even more – constantly welcomes international monitoring missions while the Russian occupying authorities don’t allow their access at all. We presume that they are afraid to, as you rightly mention in your report, - “establish accurate information to counter false information, rumors or propaganda”.

As violations of human rights in Crimea are grave, systematic and wide-spread we encourage you, Mr. Heyns, as well as other monitoring mechanisms to facilitate unimpeded international access to occupied Crimea and pay proper attention to this part of the territory of our state, status of which is prescribed in the General Assembly resolution 68/262 “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

To this end and from the viewpoint of legal wording, in particular, used in this resolution, we strongly oppose using by the Special Rapporteur an expression “the unification of Crimea with the Russian Federation”.

Regretfully, the report also lacks actual information, has been generously provided for Special Rapporteur`s attention by the Ukrainian authorities in their comments, including those related to the anti-terrorism operation, efforts to investigate alleged crimes and violations, including those presumably committed by some “volunteer battalions”, “Right Sector” etc.

To conclude, Mr. President, I would like to reiterate readiness of the Government of Ukraine to make every effort to ensure proper functioning of accountability system and bringing to justice those responsible for committing violations, including ones regarding the right to life.

Ukraine’s position remains invariable – no human rights violation, regardless of by whom or where they were committed, must not remain unpunished. Ukraine is investigating each and every case of such violations in the territory of our state and will make every effort to bring to justice those responsible for committing them.

Thank you.