B. Universal and regional human rights instruments ratified by Ukraine 24. Ukraine is a party to most core international human rights instruments, including: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic; Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 25. Ukraine is a party to a number of regional European treaties, including: the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR); Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR concerning the abolition of the death penalty in times of peace; Protocol No. 12 to the ECHR concerning the general prohibition of discrimination; Protocol No. 13 to the ECHR concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances; Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities; the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages; the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. 26. It has not yet become a party to the following instruments: the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; the international Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their families; the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the third optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. 27. Ukraine has not availed itself of the right of derogation under article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and therefore the rights contained therein are fully applicable. C. UN human rights response 28. In light of the deteriorating situation, it was assessed that the UN can play an important role in deescalating tensions, including through human rights monitoring. Assistant SecretaryGeneral (ASG) Ivan Šimonović, planned to undertake a mission to Ukraine in March, which was requested by the Secretary-General to be moved forward due to the rapid deterioration of the situation. Several high-level UN visits took place from mid-February to mid-March, including respectively, Senior Adviser Robert Serry; Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson; and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon. The latter two visits took place at the same time as that of ASG Šimonović. 29. The UN offers a neutral platform and professional expertise which can add significant value to the efforts to ensure that human rights are respected and protected in Ukraine. Independent monitoring and analysis of the human rights situation will outline technical, legal or other assistance needs, which will complement recommendations received by Ukraine from UN human rights mechanisms, and may contribute to addressing the root causes of the violence. These endeavours can and should be undertaken in cooperation with regional organizations, including the OSCE and the Council of Europe. 8|Page