A/HRC/43/CRP.5 6. OHCHR welcomes statements by various members of Parliament that pensions should be paid to all Ukrainian citizens without any discrimination as to their place of residence or registration. However, no practical mechanism has yet been established. As a result, hundreds of thousands of pensioners continued to be denied access to their pension payments. 7. While repairs were carried out at the bridge at Stanytsia Luhanska, the only entryexit checkpoint (EECP) in Luhansk region, freedom of movement along the contact line remained affected by the conflict. People in the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine, including in the isolated villages continued to face limitations accessing basic goods and services such as healthcare and medication, food markets, social services and education. The lack of public transportation, employment and livelihood opportunities, in addition to the physical and economic insecurity, including due to mine contamination, further aggravated their situation. 8. Several allegations of extrajudicial executions and killings were received by OHCHR during the reporting period. OHCHR also documented cases of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment in Government controlled-territory and in territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. 9. On 7 September 2019, a simultaneous release took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation: 35 individuals were released by the Government of Ukraine, and 35 men by the Government of the Russian Federation, including the 24 Ukrainian crew members seized during the 25 November 2018 incident near the Kerch Strait. 5 Some of the men released informed OHCHR of having been subjected to, inter alia, torture, illtreatment, arbitrary detention, unlawful use of force and inadequate medical care while detained. 10. OHCHR welcomes the transfer of 54 pre-conflict prisoners (all men) from territory controlled by ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ to Government-controlled territory on 12 September 2019. OHCHR is aware of more prisoners who have expressed their desire to be transferred, and urges the continuation of this practice from territory controlled by both ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. 11. Violations of the right to a fair trial continued, notably in conflict-related criminal cases, stemming from ineffective judicial control of pre-trial detention, protracted trials and the poor quality of legal aid. 12. OHCHR reiterates once again its concerns regarding lack of accountability for the killings and violent deaths during the Maidan protests and in Odesa on 2 May 2014. 13. The President vetoed the Electoral Code and returned it for revision by the Parliament to ensure that, inter alia, it would enfranchise internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the coming 2020 elections, in line with OHCHR’s past recommendations. 14. OHCHR is concerned that, at least, five new attacks against media professionals and four attacks on civil society activists were documented during the reporting period, while accountability for past attacks is still lacking. In territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’, OHCHR did not encounter any critical media content contradicting the political views supported by representatives of the ‘republics’ Social media is the only platform for public display of opinions, indicating that freedom of opinion and expression is severely restricted. 15. OHCHR commends the generally peaceful environment for OdesaPride and KharkivPride in August and September 2019 respectively. However, in Kharkiv, the police failed to provide sufficient security to participants before and after the event, when four men perceived to be members of the LGBTI community based on their appearance were attacked by extreme right-wing groups. OHCHR remains generally concerned about the 5 OHCHR, Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019, paras. 99-103, available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/ReportUkraine16Nov2018-15Feb2019.pdf. 5