A/HRC/37/16
77.
Uruguay encouraged Ukraine to ratify the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. It
welcomed steps taken against discrimination, including the expansion of the mandate of the
ombudsperson, and the modification of the Labour Code to prohibit discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
78.
The delegation of Ukraine indicated that an investigation by the Prosecutor General
into the crimes committed during the protests that had taken place between November 2013
and February 2014 had led to 50 indictments of 116 people and the sentencing of 12 people.
To ensure transparent investigations, the Government had launched a register of criminal
proceedings for crimes committed during the revolution of dignity. The investigation of the
events in Odessa was in the hands of the Prosecutor General’s Office, with a focus on
misconduct by the police. In that regard, three people had been indicted and four were
being sought.
79.
In 2017, the Prosecutor General’s Office had submitted 22 indictments to courts
against 32 law enforcement officers for use of torture.
80.
Regarding investigations of crimes committed in the context of antiterrorist
operations, the chief military prosecution had revealed numerous violations of article 75 (2)
of the Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the
protection of victims of international armed conflicts, and had identified more than 3,000
illegally detained people who had been subjected to torture. With regard to investigations of
sex-related crimes perpetrated by law enforcement officers, the delegation referred to the
investigation of the Tornado battalion case, which had led to the sentencing of three people
for torture and sexual crimes.
81.
Regarding the reform of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the inspectorate general
had been established, which had led to the investigation of 60 prosecutors on corruption
grounds, and a qualification and disciplinary commission, in charge of employment and
dismissal in the prosecutors’ offices, had been introduced. A road map for the reform of the
Prosecutor General’s Office, drafted with the Council of Europe and the European Union,
had been signed.
82.
Ukrainian authorities had provided training on international humanitarian law for the
leadership of the national armed forces, and were conducting a thorough campaign to
prevent gender and sexual violence by the armed forces. More than 4,000 preventive
workshops had been organized.
83.
With regard to preventing torture by and misconduct of police, more than 60 police
stations and 150 temporary detention facilities had been equipped with closed circuit
televisions. The national police had created an information system to document complaints
and physical injuries of detainees. A human rights department had been established within
the national police, and prevention of torture and misconduct had been included in training
courses for the police.
84.
With regard to the recommendations made by the Russian Federation, Ukraine
believed that those were actually relevant to the parts of Ukraine occupied and annexed by
the Russian Federation. It was in Crimea where impunity and ethnic and religious
discrimination were flourishing, and where the right to be educated in one’s native
language was being blatantly violated. The delegation stressed that the Russian Federation
supported separatist groups in Donbas, and that the international team that had investigated
the crash of flight MH17 had come to the conclusion that the aircraft had been shot down
by a Buk missile system brought from the Russian Federation. The delegation urged the
Russian Federation to respect international humanitarian and human rights law in the
territories under its control.
85.
Regarding a question on demining and rehabilitation in the Donetsk and Luhansk
regions, the delegation stated that the armed forces had concluded the rehabilitation of
infrastructure in 9 of 12 priority areas, and that the 3 remaining areas required yet another
demining operation owing to constant ceasefire violations.
86.
Referring to comments made by the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab
Republic, the delegation underscored that illegal armed groups in Donbas continued to
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