A/HRC/45/CRP.9 supporters of the armed groups.20 Charges of the crimes of trespassing against the territorial integrity or inviolability of Ukraine and high treason (crimes against national security) were less common, they were mostly used against those who did not support Ukrainian defence policy or instead supported the self-proclaimed ‘republics’. 28. In territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’, most of those ‘prosecuted’ in relation to the armed conflict were individuals believed to be affiliated with the Ukrainian armed or security forces, who committed ‘subversive acts’ against these self-proclaimed ‘republics’.21 Most resided in or regularly travelled to territory controlled by the selfproclaimed ‘republics’. Of the 305 individuals whose cases OHCHR followed, the majority were men – 248, 52 were women, and five were boys. IV. Legal Framework 29. The right to a fair trial is a part of customary international human rights law 22 and customary international humanitarian law.23 It has also been enshrined in a number of widely ratified international24 and regional human rights25 and international humanitarian law treaties.26 30. This right encompasses a series of procedural rights and judicial guarantees. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 27 prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, guarantees judicial review of detention and entitles individuals facing criminal charges, inter alia, with the right to be informed at the time of arrest, of the reasons for their arrest, of any charges against them, and of their rights and how to avail themselves of such rights. It also states that hearings must be fair and public, and conducted by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Individuals should not be compelled to testify against themselves, and have the right to be tried without undue delay, in their presence, and to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance of their own choosing whether hired or assigned if they do not have sufficient means to pay for it. In case of violations of their rights, individuals should have the right to remedy those violations. 31. While armed groups and other non-State actors cannot become parties to international human rights instruments, it is accepted that where they exercise government-like functions and control over a territory, they must respect human rights standards when their conduct affects the human rights of individuals under their control.28 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 For instance, for collecting information on the manoeuvres of the Ukrainian military and transferring this information via phone to active members of the armed groups. In some anecdotal cases, the defendants claimed that they were speaking to their loved ones living in territory controlled by selfproclaimed ‘republics’. “Subversive acts” referred to as conflict-related crimes include terrorism, extremism, espionage, high treason, diversion, violent coup, threatening the life of a State official, armed insurrection, and illegal possession of weapons. Universal Declaration on Human Rights, article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him”. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) database on customary international humanitarian law, Rule 100. Fair Trial Guarantees: “No one may be convicted or sentenced, except pursuant to a fair trial affording all essential judicial guarantees”. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 14; Convention of the Rights of the Child, article 40. European Convention on Human Rights, article 6; American Convention on Human Rights, article 8; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, article 7. Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and also First Geneva Convention, article 49; Second Geneva Convention, article 50, Third Geneva Convention, articles 102-108; Fourth Geneva Convention, articles 5 and 66-75; Additional Protocol I, article 75; Additional Protocol II, article 6. Ratified by Ukraine on 12 November 1973. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic in its Report A/HRC/19/69 concluded that “at a minimum, human rights obligations constituting peremptory 7