A/HRC/43/CRP.5 I. Executive summary 1. This twenty-eighth report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the human rights situation in Ukraine covers the period of 16 August to 15 November 2019. It is based on the work of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).1 2. The report is based on 59 visits to settlements along the contact line, 21 visits to places of detention, 151 trial hearings monitored, 19 assemblies monitored, and 117 (with 80 men and 37 women) in-depth interviews, including with victims and witnesses of human rights violations and abuses, as well as relatives of victims and their lawyers, Government representatives, civil society and other interlocutors. It also considers the inherent link between human rights and sustainable development, noting that violations of economic, social, political, civil and cultural rights can impede Ukraine’s progress to deliver on the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals (SDGs). 3. While political efforts to end the conflict continued, the civilian population residing close to the contact line experienced daily hardship due to ongoing hostilities, resulting in the continued degradation of their socio-economic rights. People living in remote communities close to the contact line that are considered “isolated”, due to disruption of road infrastructure, internal checkpoints, the contact line, as well as insecurity continued to experience difficulties accessing social benefits and essential public services, such as healthcare, medicines, and education. 4. During the reporting period, OHCHR recorded 42 civilian casualties (23 men, 12 women, two girls and five boys), six of whom were killed and 36 injured, representing a 38.2 per cent decrease in comparison to the previous reporting period. Twenty-one of these were caused by combat activities2: 17 injuries (12 men and five women) were recorded in territory controlled by self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’3, attributable to the Government of Ukraine. Two civilian injuries (a man and a woman) were recorded in Government-controlled territory, both attributable to armed groups of ‘Donetsk people’s republic’. A man was also injured in ‘no man’s land’ and a boy was injured in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’4 with the attribution of these casualties pending as of 15 November. Mines and explosive remnants of war killed three men and three women, and injured five men, three women, four boys and two girls, on both sides of the contact line. In addition, a man was injured in a road incident with the military. The total civilian death toll of the conflict reached at least 3,344(1,807 men, 1,055 women, 98 boys, 49 girls and 37 adults whose sex is unknown, as well as 298 individuals who died on board of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17) as of 15 November 2019. The number of injured civilians is estimated to exceed 7,000. 5. Over 50,000 civilian homes have been damaged or destroyed due to hostilities on both sides of the contact line since mid-April 2014. The Government has failed to provide restitution or, compensation for civilian property lost or destroyed due to hostilities or military use of properties, although the inclusion of a budget line for this purpose in next year’s State budget is a positive sign. 1 2 3 4 4 HRMMU was deployed on 14 March 2014 to monitor and report on the human rights situation throughout Ukraine, with particular attention to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, and to propose recommendations to the Government and other actors to address human rights concerns. For more information, see UN Human Rights Council, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, 19 September 2014, A/HRC/27/75, paras. 7-8, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session27/Documents/A-HRC-27-75_en.pdf. This refers to those killed or injured due to shelling and small arms and light weapons fire, contrary to those affected by mines and unexploded remnants of war. Hereinafter ‘Donetsk people’s republic’. Hereinafter ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. For the sake of brevity, ‘Donetsk’s people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ will be collectively referred to as self-proclaimed ‘republics’.