The majority of human rights violations in Ukraine have been committed in areas controlled by militants, UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic has said.

If one takes the total number of human rights violations in Ukraine, most of them are committed by armed groups in areas under their control, Simonovic said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

In his words, the report of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine lists and describes in detail lawlessness and human rights violations, including those taking place in the territories controlled by unlawful armed groups. These include executions without trial, arrests, torture, etc., the UN official said.

However, the crimes committed by militants should not serve as an excuse for Ukrainian government forces to commit any violations of human rights, he added.