A/HRC/40/CRP.3 VIII. Technical cooperation and capacity-building 115. OHCHR engages in technical cooperation and capacity-building activities to assist the Government of Ukraine and civil society to protect and promote human rights. 116. OHCHR carried out 334 specific follow-up activities to facilitate the protection of human rights connected with the cases documented, including trial monitoring, detention visits, referrals to State institutions, humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms. OHCHR referred 34 allegations of human rights violations to specific duty-bearers; to the Government of Ukraine, 19 allegations were raised with two fully and seven partially addressed; to the ‘ombudsperson’ of ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ seven allegations were raised with one fully and one partially addressed; and to ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ seven allegations were raised with three partially addressed. 117. On 30 November, OHCHR, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and the Age and Disability Technical Working Group organized a joint capacity-building training session on the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in the armed conflict in Ukraine. Participants included Government officials and local authorities, staff of international and national organizations, civil society activists and persons with disabilities. The main purpose of the training was to strengthen the protection of persons with disabilities affected by the conflict in Ukraine through raising awareness of international standards, identifying challenges and needs related to protection of PwD and establishing stronger cooperation between key stakeholders. IX. Conclusions and recommendations 118. OHCHR welcomes the significant decrease in civilian casualties, however, the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine continues, affecting lives and livelihoods not only of more than five million civilians on both sides of the contact line, but the entire country. All parties to the conflict need to fully implement the ceasefire and disengagement provisions of the Minsk agreements to protect civilians, civilian property and infrastructure, and lessen their daily hardships. The Government of Ukraine needs to step up efforts for protection of conflict-affected civilians, including IDPs, regardless of where they reside in Ukraine, as well as for the realization of their economic and social rights to pave the way for a durable reconciliation between communities and restoring peace and stability in eastern Ukraine. 119. The Government must act to protect space for civic expression ahead of Ukraine’s presidential, parliamentary and local elections in 2019 and 2020. Impunity for attacks on media professionals, civil society activists, lawyers and political opponents weakens Ukraine’s democratic institutions and fuels further intolerance, discrimination and violence, and could compromise the integrity of the upcoming elections. 120. As in the previous reporting periods, OHCHR regrets the absence of the meaningful progress in investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the killings during the Maidan protests and the violence that took place on 2 May 2014 in Odesa. 121. The human rights situation in Crimea continues to deteriorate as a direct result of the Russian Federation authorities applying its laws against residents of Crimea in violation of their obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and other violations of international humanitarian law affecting the protected population. The Russian Federation must address pervasive human rights violations such as restrictions on freedoms of religion, opinion and expression and association, as well as the intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders, disproportionately affecting Crimean Tatars. 122. Most recommendations made in the previous OHCHR reports on the human rights situation in Ukraine have not yet been implemented and remain valid. OHCHR further recommends the following, based on the issues identified from 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019. 29