A/HRC/45/CRP.9 lead to identification of the source, unless the source gave informed consent and OHCHR assessment concluded it would not carry potential risks of harm and retaliation. 19. In Government-controlled territory, OHCHR enjoys freedom of movement and full, unimpeded access to detainees and detention facilities. By contrast, in territory controlled by self-proclaimed ‘republics’, OHCHR operations have been severely restricted since July 2018. Furthermore, OHCHR has never been granted unimpeded confidential access to places of detention, which severely limits OHCHR’s ability to obtain primary source information through confidential interviews with detainees. Between April 2017 and July 2018, OHCHR had restricted access to ‘hearings’ in conflict-related cases, which were usually held in camera.10 Despite these impediments, OHCHR monitored 71 ‘hearings’, interviewed 453 individuals, and carried out remote monitoring and analysis of information obtained from a range of other sources including ‘court verdicts’, replies of the ‘authorities’ and open-source information to verify allegations of human rights violations perpetrated in this territory. 20. Due to lack of access, OHCHR has remotely monitored the human rights situation in Crimea on a continuous basis since March 2014. OHCHR conducted 183 direct in-depth interviews with victims and witnesses of human rights violations, as well as relatives of victims and their lawyers, Government representatives, members of civil society and other stakeholders. OHCHR collects and analyses information from court registries and documents, official Government records, open sources and other relevant material, and assesses Ukrainian and Russian Federation legislation which impact the enjoyment of human rights in Crimea. OHCHR also regularly monitors the crossing points of the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between mainland Ukraine and Crimea. III. Context 21. From 21 November 2013 to 20 February 2014, large-scale protests erupted in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, triggered by the decision of then-President Viktor Yanukovych not to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union. The protests were characterized by violence and excessive use of force by police and other law enforcement agencies. Such incidents took place particularly near Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv, and resulted in the death of 98 people including 13 law enforcement officers.11 On 21 February 2014, President Yanukovych fled Ukraine and the next day, Parliament voted to remove him from office.12 22. On 27 February 2014, uniformed men without insignia took over the Parliament of Crimea and dismissed the Government of Crimea. On 16 March 2014, a “referendum” on Crimea’s incorporation into the Russian Federation was held. 13 Shortly thereafter, on 18 March 2014, the Russian Federation and the “Republic of Crimea” signed a “Treaty on the 10 11 12 13 Prior to 2017, OHCHR did not seek access to ‘trials’ in territory controlled by self-proclaimed ‘republics’. See, e.g., OHCHR, Accountability for killings in Ukraine from January 2014 to May 2016, available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/OHCHRThematicReportUkraineJan2014May2016_EN.pdf, and HRMMU briefing note, Accountability for Killings and Violent Deaths during the Maidan Protests, available at www.un.org.ua/images/documents/4700/Accountability%20for%20Killings%20and%20Violent%20 Deaths%20During%20the%20Maidan%20Protest_2.pdf. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Parliament), Self-Removal of the President of Ukraine from Performance of Constitutional Functions and Appointment of the Extraordinary Election of the President of Ukraine, Resolution No. 757-VII, available at zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/757VII#Text. The “referendum” was declared invalid by the Government of Ukraine, as well as by the United Nations General Assembly, which stated that the referendum, “having no validity, cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol” (General Assembly resolution 68/262, para. 5). See also OHCHR first report on Crimea, paras. 5, 24 and 28. 5