A/HRC/42/40/Add.2 B. General situation of enforced disappearances 17. Over the years, the Working Group has transmitted nine cases of enforced disappearances to the Government of Ukraine, of which six are still outstanding. The cases relate to disappearances between 1995 and 2015, reportedly perpetrated mainly by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). 18. Two of the individuals whose cases were clarified were released from detention, while one individual was found dead. 19. As in virtually all countries facing the issue of enforced disappearances, in Ukraine the number of cases reported to the Working Group is not illustrative of the real dimension of the problem, but a small sample. 20. During its visit, the Working Group heard numerous accounts of disappearances occurring in particular at the beginning of the conflict in the East and its aftermath, notably in 2014 and 2015. The stories indicated that all parties to the conflict had been responsible for such acts, with the allegations pointing mainly at the SBU and volunteer battalions, and at the security services established by the de facto authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk. According to the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine, it is estimated that there are more than 1,500 missing persons as a result of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.3 During and since its visit, the Working Group has received a number of new reports alleging disappearances. 21. The Working Group has recalled that all parties to the conflict in Ukraine have obligations under both human rights law and international humanitarian law prohibiting enforced disappearances under any circumstances, including situations of armed conflict. C. Situation in the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine 1. Legislation and institutional framework 22. The Working Group commends the Ukrainian authorities for their efforts to set up a comprehensive legal framework for the protection and promotion of human rights. The Constitution of Ukraine provides for non-exhaustive list of protected human rights, including the right to life, the prohibition of torture and the right to personal freedom and security. Ukraine, one of the founding States Members of the United Nations, has ratified all major international human rights treaties: the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 23. In particular, the Working Group welcomes the ratification by Ukraine of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2015, as well as its recognition of the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive individual communications under article 31. It is essential that the ratification of the Convention be followed by its effective implementation in the national legal system, and that judges, prosecutors and other relevant officials – including from the military and security institutions – are familiarized with its principles, concepts and specific norms. 24. The Working Group welcomes the adoption of the Law “On the Legal Status of Missing Persons” in the aftermath of its visit in July 2018. The law defines the legal status of 3 6 See http://ua.icrc.org/2018/10/04/international-experts-gather-in-kyiv-to-catalyze-action-for-missingpersons-eng/.