"The Government of Ukraine remains responsible for protecting the human rights of all Ukrainians, including the right to health, education and social security, in all its territory, including areas it does not fully control," Zeid Ra'ad Hussein said.
"I urge the Government to carefully consider the human rights impact of this decision," he added.
According to Hussein, the situation in eastern Ukraine is "increasingly dire."
Hussein's comments come after the release of the eighth OHCHR report on the human rights situation in Ukraine on Monday.
The report covers the period from November 1 to 30. According to it, the Ukrainian government has taken a series of actions destabilizing the situation in the eastern Ukrainian regions. Those actions were "accompanied by arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and ill-treatment of people suspected of separatism," with most of the violations being conducted by voluntary battalions or by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The high commissioner also called for an end to hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the full implementation of the Minsk Protocol.
In mid-November, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree imposing an economic blockade on eastern Ukraine and withdrawing all state-funded health, educational and social protection organizations from the Donbas region. Donetsk and Luhansk regions residents were given until December 31 to register in Government-controlled areas in order to be eligible to receive social benefits. However, according to the latest UN report, the registration points are overwhelmed and cannot cope with the inflow.
