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OHCHR closely registers reports of civilian casualties of Ukrainian attacks — spokeswoman

On Wednesday, the Russian delegation, which takes part in the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, criticized the HRC’s partiality in assessment of violations of rights and freedoms

GENEVA, September 12. /TASS/. The UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that it cautiously registers the reports about civilian victims of Ukrainian attacks in Russia. OHCHR Spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell noted that the Office sticks to the same methodology of registering information about the killed and the injured in regards to the Ukrainian conflict in all cases.

On Wednesday, the Russian delegation, which takes part in the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, criticized the HRC’s partiality in assessment of violations of rights and freedoms. Russian representative Yaroslav Yeremin stated "the absence of any reaction" from this body and its head Volker Turk "to the death of civilians as a result of shelling of Russian cities in Donbass, in Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk and other regions."

"This is drastically different from the hysteria that accompanies any Russian actions within the special military operation," the diplomat stated.

When asked by TASS if the OHCHR agrees with this assessment, Throssell said: "The UN Human Rights Office follows the same methodology for documenting, verifying and reporting on civilian casualties related to the war in Ukraine, no matter where they happen."

"We are closely recording all reports of civilian casualties in the Russian Federation and take all the steps we can to verify them," she assured.

The spokeswoman pointed out that such verification is "particularly challenging because Russian authorities have not granted us access and because publicly available information about attacks in the Russian Federation is usually limited."

"Nonetheless, we have in certain cases included in our public reporting information about reports of civilian casualties in the Russian Federation, even if we have not been able to verify them," Throssell noted.

She pointed to the OHCHR report on rights and freedoms in Ukraine in between March and May, 2024, which says that 91 civilians were killed and 455 civilians were injured by Ukrainian attacks in Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions. The Office pointed out that these reports could not be verified.