A/HRC/42/40/Add.2 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 9 August 2019 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-second session 9–27 September 2019 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Visit to Ukraine Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances*, ** Summary The situation of human rights in Ukraine is complex, notably due to the persistence of the armed conflict in its eastern regions, where violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict on either side of the contact line continue to be documented.1 As most instances of enforced disappearance stem from the conflict in the East, priority should be given to immediately ending hostilities between all parties involved and implementing all obligations foreseen in the Minsk agreements, as well as their general obligations deriving from both international humanitarian and human rights law. The Working Group recalls that, even during armed conflicts, human rights must be respected, including an absolute prohibition of enforced disappearances, while efforts should be made to alleviate human suffering. It also recalls that enforced disappearances are prohibited under any circumstance, including a state of war or any other public emergency.2 This prohibition is non-derogable and must be also respected by the de facto authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk. The pain and anguish of relatives of disappeared persons cannot be used for political purposes. Decisive measures must be taken to assist family members who are looking for their disappeared loved ones, to provide them with reparation – including psychosocial, economical and other support – and to bring perpetrators to justice. The Working Group notes some legislative progress, notably the criminalization of enforced disappearance in the Law on the Legal Status of Missing Persons, which introduced amendments to the Criminal * The present report was submitted late owing to a technical error in the submission process. ** The summary of the report is being circulated in all official languages. The report itself, which is 1 2 annexed to the summary, is being circulated in the language of submission and Russian only. See A/HRC/39/CRP.5, para. 123. Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, art. 7; International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances, art. 1. GE.19-13742(E) 