35^th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Agenda item 10

 

General debates

 

Intervention by the delegation of Ukraine

 

June 21, 2017

Thank you.

 

The progress as well as the challenges encountered in the activities aimed at enhancing technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights depend on the states` readiness to cooperate and the key here, we believe, is access.

The absence of access raises legitimate concerns especially when there are numerous reports of human rights violations. Ukrainian Crimea, Donbas and, as we heard this morning from the High Commissioner, – Georgia are among the eloquent examples. It is worrying that the High Commissioner`s Office was not allowed access to the Georgian affected territories, as it was envisaged in the relevant HRC Resolution.

Ukraine encourages human rights monitoring and strongly believes that if the international community is determined enough to improve the human rights situation all over the world, it is possible to find a way to achieve this goal no matter how difficult it is.

To this end we call upon all countries to facilitate direct and unimpeded humanitarian and human rights monitoring access, including to the occupied territories, where human rights and international humanitarian law are generally violated most brutally and massively. It is the access where the assistance starts.

Thank you.