Mr President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Peace is not a word that I hear very often these days.
The situation in Ukraine has been added to a litany of continuous suffering, and the world’s attention seems jaded by
the multiple crises that we face. I feel for the Ukrainians, who have a right to peace, and who deserve peace, in line
with the UN Charter and international law. Instead, I fear that protracted and entrenched conflict will impact lives and
human rights for generations to come.
It has been 662 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. My Office continues to undertake extensive
monitoring and documentation by our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), based on the rigorous, and tried
and tested, methodology we have developed over decades. This documentation continues to indicate gross violations of
international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes, primarily by the
forces of the Russian Federation.
They include 142 cases of summary execution of civilians since February 2022, in territory controlled by Russian armed
forces or occupied by the Russian Federation. On occupied territory, we have documented widespread torture and
ill-treatment of detainees, including sexual violence, as well as large numbers of enforced disappearances.
In addition, there has been extensive failure by the Russian Federation to take adequate measures to protect civilians
and protected civilian objects against the effects of their attacks.
Mr President,
As of 4 December, my Office has recorded and confirmed over 10,000 civilian deaths resulting from the conflict since
February 2022, including more than 560 children. A further 18,500 civilians have been confirmed injured, many of them
severely. The true toll is probably substantially higher.
Report A/HRC/55/CRP.2 is before you. It covers events between 1 August and 30 November this year. During this period we
documented 2,440 civilians killed and injured, most of them by explosive weapons with wide area effects, such as
artillery shells and rockets; cluster munitions; and missiles, as well as so-called loitering munitions.
Most of these civilians were killed in areas of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia near the front lines of
combat, and among them was a disproportionate number of older people, unwilling or unable to relocate to greater safety.
Significant casualties were also documented due to missile attacks launched by the Russian Federation against targets in
densely populated residential areas, often far from the frontlines. Last week's multiple missile attacks on Kyiv, which
wounded over 50 people and damaged several apartment buildings, are yet another example. People across the country do
not feel safe.
In addition, mines and explosive remnants of war have caused over 1,000 civilian casualties since February 2022. This
extensive presence of mines and explosive material, across large areas of Ukraine, threatens the lives, rights and
livelihoods of Ukrainians in both the immediate and long term.
Russian missile attacks have also targeted grain-storage and -transport facilities, which are necessary for the export
of food and constitute protected civilian objects under international humanitarian law. Such attacks threaten a critical
sector of Ukraine’s economy, and deprive people in many countries of critically important food.
In addition, over 1,300 education and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed since February 2022 – more than
100 of them in this reporting period. A scant one-half of children in Ukraine are able to attend in-person classes every
day.
Mr President,
In territories occupied by the Russian Federation, including Crimea, we have documented patterns of arbitrary detention
and enforced disappearance, by Russian armed forces, of local officials, journalists, civil society activists and other
civilians. They include numerous Crimean Tatar activists.
The Russian Federation has not permitted us to access any of its places of detention in these territories, impeding a
complete count of these cases. But among the victims of arbitrary detention, incommunicado detention and enforced
disappearance documented by my Office since 24 February 2022, at least one hundred civilians died after having been
taken into detention by Russian authorities. At least 39 of them appeared to have been tortured before their death:
practices of torture and other cruel treatment have been widespread in places of detention in Russian-occupied
territories. Many cases of torture that we have documented include sexual violence.
The Office also has no access to Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been interned in territories occupied by the
Russian Federation. Many families have received no communication from them, creating deep worry about their fate. Russia
has also retained Ukrainian military medical personnel, contrary to international humanitarian law.
The Office is analysing six new reported cases of Russian soldiers killing civilians in occupied territory. The Russian
authorities announced the arrest of two Russian soldiers in connection with the killing of a family of nine, including
two children, in Volnovakha, in Donetsk oblast. There are also indications that an investigation has been opened into a
second case that we have verified, in which a couple was killed in Maly Kopani, Kherson oblast.
Under international law the occupying power must maintain the status quo, to the extent possible. But my Office has
continued to document actions by the Russian Federation to impose its own laws, as well as legal, political, and
administrative structures in areas it has occupied and purported to annex, in violation of international law – even
conscripting Ukrainian men to serve in the Russian military against their own people.
In the reporting period, Ukrainian authorities have continued to prosecute and convict individuals from areas that are
or have been under Russian occupation. As of 30 November, some 8,600 criminal charges have been made in relation to
collaboration activities or similar charges, with courts ordering, in most cases, that the accused remain in custody
pending trial. Verdicts have been handed down in 941 cases. In the view of my Office, many of these individuals were
convicted for conduct that could be lawful – including, for example, work to ensure the continued functioning of social
services and schools in occupied areas. I urge the Ukrainian authorities to narrow the definition of “collaboration,” to
avoid any conflict with activity that is lawful under international humanitarian law.
I note also my concerns regarding freedom of religion and belief in Ukraine, given continuing action by the authorities
against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. A draft law would set out a procedure for dissolving any religious organization
with ties to the Russian Federation. These proposed restrictions to the right to freedom of religion do not appear to
comply with international human rights law.
When I visited Ukraine in December last year, I realised how important it is to keep a constant eye on the vision for
the day after. To prepare now for the kind of Ukraine that the people would like to live in once this war is over. This
necessitates the building of social inclusion for all communities, and the protection of minority rights, including the
right to use every language spoken in Ukraine.
Regarding the issue of the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation, we documented the return
of two children to Ukraine during the reporting period. I reiterate our call for the prompt return of all deported and
transferred individuals, including children.
I also continue to be deeply concerned about potential safety threats at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – one of
the largest nuclear facilities in Europe – which continues to be occupied by Russian forces. The continued use of heavy
weapons in close proximity to the site, and fears about mismanagement of its complex systems, could result in
catastrophic harm to human rights.
Mr President,
I urge all States, especially those with influence, to call for immediate and decisive measures by both parties – and in
particular, by the Russian Federation – to ensure that their personnel fully comply with international human rights and
international humanitarian law. They must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimise civilian harm, including
through the selection of means and methods of warfare. They must cease the use of explosive weapons with wide-area
effects in populated areas, and scrupulously map the location of mines. Prisoners of war must be treated in full
accordance with international humanitarian law.
There must be timely and effective investigations into all allegations of violations, with due prosecution of and
accountability for alleged perpetrators, including those with command responsibility. Victims have the rights to remedy,
reparation and support.
The targeting of civilian infrastructure, including facilities related to grain production and export; and the practices
of arbitrary detention and torture must cease immediately.
I urge the Russian Federation to permit access by independent and impartial monitors to places of detention, and to
respect, in full, applicable international humanitarian law in the territory under its occupation – including by giving
effect to Ukrainian laws, and ending the conscription of protected civilians.
Ukraine must align the "Law on Collaboration Activities” with international law, and refrain from prosecuting
individuals for collaboration when their cooperation with the occupying authorities fell within international
humanitarian law. It must ensure that legislation protects freedom of religion and does not discriminate against any
religious community. I also urge the swift adoption of a national strategy for the protection of civilians.
I further urge both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to do everything in their power to ensure the safety and security
of the operations at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
Ultimately, there is only one solution to this tragic and far-reaching conflict: a just peace. In accordance with
General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 and the binding order by the International Court of Justice, the Russian Federation should immediately cease its use of force against
Ukraine.
Thank you.