UN says Ukrainian government abused human rights while preserving territorial integrity

World December 15, 2014, 16:02

The report also noted that Ukraine’s military prosecutors have taken no steps amid reports on numerous human rights violations

GENEVA, December 15. /TASS/. The United Nations said in a report released on Monday the actions of Ukraine’s government aimed at preserving territorial integrity were accompanied by torture against people suspected of “separatism and terrorism.”

The report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is based on materials provided by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) and covers the period from November 1-30.

"The efforts of the government to safeguard the territorial integrity of Ukraine and restore law and order in the conflict zone have been accompanied by arbitrary detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances of people suspected of 'separatism and terrorism'," the report says.

"Most of such human rights violations appear to have been perpetrated by certain voluntary battalions or by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)," it says.

Some captives said they had been beaten and intimidated as Kiev attempted to make them acknowledge that they participated in an armed fight against the government.

In mid-November, monitors said one of the detainees died in the Izumsky district of the Kharkiv region, in eastern Ukraine. Another captive said he had been kept by the SBU for nearly two months.

The report also noted that Ukraine’s military prosecutors have taken no steps amid reports on numerous human rights violations by the members of voluntary battalions such as Aidar, Azov, Slobozhanshchina and Shakhtarsk.

The OHCHR has called on the Ukrainian government to treat all the detainees in line with the international norms and standards. The report said all the secret detention centers should be closed and the rights of the captives should not be violated.

According to the latest UN data, at least 4,707 people were killed and 10,322 others wounded in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine since the military operation began in mid-April.

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