Moscow Hopes UN to Make Kiev Respect Human Rights in Ukraine

Moscow hopes that the United Nations will urge the Ukrainian authorities to respect human rights and implement the provisions stipulated by the Minsk agreements, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, commenting on the latest report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In its Tuesday report, the mission criticized ongoing human rights violations committed by Kiev. It denounced the existence of a contact line between Donbass and Ukraine as the mission claimed it limits the freedom of movement, as well as the lack of progress in investigating several notorious cases such as clashes, and the Odessa massacre in May 2014.

"We are convinced that the United Nations and international community face a task of urging Kiev to rigorously observe international human rights obligations and international humanitarian norms, and to conscientiously implement the Minsk agreements to facilitate lasting peace in the country," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry expressed support for the UN mission’s calls for the conflicting parties to rigorously maintain the ceasefire agreement, and its concern with the continuing shooting at the civilian infrastructure, such as the water and energy supply systems, schools and hospitals.

"In connection with this we wholly support the monitoring mission’s recommendations on the necessity of strict observance of the Minsk arrangements," the ministry added.

The ministry also voiced concern about the mission’s data concerning new cases of illegal or arbitrary imprisonment, and the use of torture by the Security Service of Ukraine.

"We agree with the United Nations that lack of proper investigation of those crimes by the Ukrainian authorities would promote abusive behavior in the country in general," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

The response underlines that parts of the UN report were politically biased, and include attempts to diminish Kiev’s crimes against its people and to shield it from criticism.

 

The Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014 as a local counter-reaction to the West-sponsored Maidan coup in Kiev that had toppled President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held independence referendums and proclaimed the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Kiev has since been conducting a military operation, encountering stiff local resistance.

In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement brokered by the Normandy Four states (Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine), the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.