Ombudsman on UN report: Certain conclusions about Ukraine are erroneous
Some conclusions about Ukraine in the 41st periodic report of the UN are erroneous, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said.
"The report acknowledges Russia's systematic violations of human rights in Ukraine, in particular, attacks on civilian infrastructure, executions and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, illegal seizure of property in Ukraine's temporary occupied territories and the involvement of children in military training. However, a number of UN conclusions regarding Ukraine are erroneous. I categorically disagree with the fact that certain comments and recommendations provided by the Ombudsman's Office have not been taken into account," he said in the Telegram channel on Friday.
Thus, according to him, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine has launched a criminal investigation into the facts of torture of Russian prisoners of war in transit areas described in the report, and the Coordination Headquarters, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, but the comments provided by the Department for the Implementation of the National Preventive Mechanism were not taken into account in the report.
Lubinets said the conditions and treatment of Russian prisoners of war comply with the Geneva Convention, and reports of cases of torture and cruel treatment require additional verification through authorized public agencies of Ukraine. In addition, in his opinion, the UN actually equates the scale of violations by Ukraine and Russia.
"We have repeatedly noted that coverage of the problem of 'ill-treatment' should reflect the volume of violations of IHL [International Humanitarian Law] by the Russian side, even in the absence of full access to places of detention in Russia. It turns out that Ukraine provides access to international organizations that can cover everything in reports, and Russia simply does not allow it. These are not identical things! I am outraged that in the current context, the final recommendations for Russia and Ukraine 'observe IHL.' That is, the UN is equalizing the scale of unacceptable violations," the ombudsman said.
Lubinets also drew attention to the data in the report that "changes in legislation concerning religious organizations have established disproportionate restrictions on the freedom to profess one's religion or beliefs." According to him, the UN expresses concern over the alleged possibility of banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Ukraine.
"The aforementioned law directly prohibits the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church alone. In addition, it prohibits the activities of Ukrainian religious organizations recognized as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, without providing for any mention in the law on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The provisions of the law do not in any way limit the right to freedom of conscience and religion, but are aimed only at regulating certain issues of the functioning of religious organizations, in particular, the elimination of the dependence of Ukrainian churches on the Russian Orthodox Church," he said.
In response to the statements in the report about the "unlawful restrictions" experienced by Ukrainian citizens who refuse military service for religious reasons, Lubinets recalled that he had repeatedly raised the issue of the need to observe, during martial law, the right of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine to undergo alternative (non-military) service if the performance of military duty contradicts their religious beliefs. As a result, an interdepartmental commission was formed, which is developing the relevant amendments to the legislation.
Lubinets said he would send additional letters to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, initiate a new meeting with Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Danielle Belle, and insist that the recommendations of the Ombudsman's Office be taken into account in future reports.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine refuted the UN's conclusions on amendments to the Law of Ukraine On protection of the constitutional order in activities of religious organizations as distorting reality.