A/HRC/40/CRP.3 in government-controlled territory and is attributable to armed groups of ‘Donetsk people’s republic’. During the reporting period, OHCHR did not record any mine-related civilian casualties. 7. More than five million people,9 including over 1.3 million registered internally displaced persons (IDPs)10 and persons living in isolated communities along the contact line in eastern Ukraine continue to bear the brunt of the armed conflict and its consequences. The hardship they endure is exacerbated by the lack of access to basic services, social support, as well as remedies and reparations for injured persons and relatives of those killed and for destroyed property. A dozen civilians died in the first few weeks of 2019, mainly due to serious health complications, while crossing the contact line. During the winter months, the lack of adequate heating remained one of the main challenges for civilians, especially those living along the contact line. Despite consistent court decisions in favour of individuals who lost access to their pensions, the Government has failed to implement the judgments and continues to link access to pensions to IDP registration. Further, OHCHR noted the continued need for broader protection of conflict-affected civilians, including IDPs, regardless of where they reside in Ukraine, and realization of their economic and social rights to pave the way for restoring peace and stability in eastern Ukraine. 8. In government-controlled territory, OHCHR had access to official places of detention and conducted confidential interviews with detainees in accordance with international standards. In territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’, OHCHR continues to call for confidential access to detainees to be granted to OHCHR and international observers. 9. OHCHR welcomes the transfers of 88 pre-conflict prisoners from territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ to governmentcontrolled territory that took place in December 2018 and February 2019. Of them, seventyfive were transferred from territory controlled by ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict. 10. OHCHR is concerned about the practice of arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment of civilians in government-controlled territory. During the reporting period, OHCHR documented two cases of arbitrary detention of civilians allegedly by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Individuals in territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ continued to be subjected to ‘administrative’ arrest and ‘preventive’ arrest, respectively, which may constitute enforced disappearance. 11. In conflict-related cases, due process and fair trial violations persist as a result of the pervasive practice of prolonged pre-trial detention, and the use of force and coercion to obtain confessions or to accept plea bargains. Interference into the work of courts in conflict-related and other high-profile trials continued during the reporting period. Five years after violent clashes between law-enforcement and Maidan protestors, the killings of protestors and law-enforcement officers remain largely unaddressed by the Government. Delays in the investigation and trial proceedings related to the 2 May 2014 violence in Odesa continue. 12. Safeguarding civic space and protecting people’s rights to freedom of opinion and expression, media and peaceful assembly and association is key in ensuring that the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine are peaceful and inclusive. OHCHR documented 16 violations of the afore-mentioned freedoms, as well as the right to non-discrimination, a decrease in keeping with the seasonal lull occurring every New Year 9 10 See Multi-Year Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 2019-2020 available from https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ukraine/document/ukraine-2019-humanitarianresponse-plan-hrp. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy, as of 5 February 2019 there were 1,361,912 internally displaced persons registered in Ukraine since the beginning of the armed conflict in 2014. 5