Since mid-June, our advocacy started to bear fruit: crossing points started to reopen and hundreds of civilians began to cross per day. Together with our international and national partners, we have been advocating for facilitation of crossings on humanitarian grounds, and to a structured reopening of crossing points when the epidemiological situation allows. Since the end of March, when all crossing points were effectively closed, this figure shrank to several hundreds. This affects the enjoyment of the rights to health, food, family life and social security of these individuals.īefore the COVID-19 outbreak, over a million individuals were crossing the contact line in both directions each month. In Government-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where I work, COVID-19-related restrictions on freedom of movement remain one of the most serious problems for the local population, especially for civilians crossing the contact line that separates government-controlled and armed group-controlled territories.
What are the main human rights issues at stake in Ukraine in the COVID-19 response? The information we gather is shared with national stakeholders and international partners so that decision-makers can base their decisions on our information and change the situation for the better.Īs an example, we identified a problem with the spread of COVID-19 in penitentiary institutions in Ukraine and reached out to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and to the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk people's republic' and 'Luhansk people's republic.' Our advocacy letters and guidance notes, supported by public communications on possible measures to mitigate the spread and impact of the virus on the facilities and inmates, hopefully contributed to better preparedness of the penitentiary system. These groups are likely to be disproportionately affected by the crisis and at risk of being forgotten. We are paying more attention to those in the most vulnerable situations, including people in places of detention, older persons, homeless people, Roma and persons with disabilities. We also continue to gather information through our network of contacts with local activists, civil society organisations, local authorities and the military. We continue to bring the voices of civilians affected by the conflict to decision-makers and international partners through our reports, communication activities and advocacy efforts.Īt the field level, we are documenting human rights violations. What is UN Human Rights doing to protect the rights of people during this epidemic? Similarly, we continue to conduct field trips to monitor issues with freedom of movement at entry-exit crossing points across the contact line, following the introduction of quarantine measures. Recently for example, we went to two places along the contact line in eastern Ukraine – the delineation between armed group-controlled territory and Government-controlled territory - to monitor the simultaneous release of conflict-related detainees under the Minsk agreements. When the situation allows us to be physically present on the ground and to keep a safe distance, we continue to do so.
To conduct our interviews, we use the telephone or the internet more than before.
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However, we continue to gather first-hand information, talk to victims and witnesses of human rights violations and conduct offline and online monitoring. The COVID-19 crisis has added another layer of complexity to our work in Ukraine. Nigora Sachdeva is Head of the Kramatorsk Field Office for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been responding to the crisis since it began, documenting human rights violations, and speaking out on behalf of those in the most vulnerable situations. At the time of writing, there were 92,820 cases and 2,089 people had died (source: World Health Organization). Ukraine, which recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 3 March 2020, has been hard hit by the pandemic and its consequences.
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