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Moscow concerned by conclusions of UN human rights mission to Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry says the UN human rights mission in Ukraine did not have a mandate for considering the situation in third countries

MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Russia is seriously concerned by conclusions of the UN human rights mission to Ukraine regarding Kiev's compliance with its obligations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"We find it regrettable that the Kiev government and the armed units loyal to it violated on many occasions the so-called bread truce that was announced on June 24," the Foreign Ministry said.

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"The harsh tortures the Ukrainian law enforcers and the SBU security service use to extract confessionary evidence cause indignation and condemnation," it went on, adding that the conclusions the UN mission members had drawn as regards Kiev's discriminatory policy towards the Ukrainian citizens residing in Donbass also gave cause to serious concern.

The commentary said the report contained mentions of imitations of executions by shooting practiced by the SBU and the use of electroshock weapons. These crimes were not investigated properly and this helped the spread of the atmosphere of lawlessness in the country.

"On this background, the absence of any progress in the investigation of the May 2014 tragedy in Odessa is easy to explain," the ministry said.

The ministry called attention to the fact the UN report cited the data on systemic violations, which the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies committed in form of arrests of individuals running businesses in the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk republics.

Along with it, the ministry said the UN human rights mission in Ukraine did not have a mandate for considering the situation in third countries.

"We would like to make a reminder in this connection that the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol are located in the Russian Federation and the attempts to include assessments of the human rights situation in that Russian region in the main UN report on Ukraine are illegitimate," the commentary said.

The hate campaign against journalists and opposition politicians in Ukraine runs counter to the basic principles of a democratic state, the ministry said.

The Russian side shares the mission’s concerns "over the new round of legislative restrictions on civil and political freedoms in that country," the ministry said. "We agree with international experts that the manhunt on journalists and the hate campaign against the mass media and opposition politicians, criminal prosecution for their implementing the right of opinion and its free expression, the closure of unwanted companies, including media groups, the unwillingness to ensure minorities rights for peaceful gatherings are incompatible with the basic principles of a democratic state.".

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy

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