Support to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU)

• Deployed in March 2014, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) monitors, reports and advocates on the human rights situation in Ukraine, with a particular focus on the conflict area of eastern Ukraine. HRMMU also remotely monitors, produces reports and advocates on the human rights situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, occupied by the Russian Federation; • The Mission has seven offices around the country: in Donetsk and Luhansk (in armed group-controlled territory) and in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Mariupol, and Odesa (in Government-controlled territory); • HRMMU continues its operations despite COVID-19 related restrictions, including in the armed group-controlled territory and remotely in Crimea; • HRMMU provides evidence-based information to the host country and the international community that served multiple purposes, including early warning, supporting high-level conflict resolution activities in peace processes (Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk and Normandy Four), in the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, at the Security Council, and the Human Rights Council, informing and shaping the design of humanitarian and development responses by both national and international stakeholders; • HRMMU continues to remain the only international entity that maintained a comprehensive record of conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine since 2014 with data disaggregated by sex, age, place of incident, control over the place of the incident, and by weapon/type of incident; • HRMMU’s “Protection by Presence” continues to influence the behaviour of parties to the conflict. Monitoring (2019-2020): • 632 new cases of human rights violations were registered in 2019-20, based on more than 1049 interviews; • Over 150 people detained arbitrarily were released following HRMMU’s advocacy; • HRMMU recorded and corroborated 313 civilian casualties that occurred in 2019-20 and corroborated additional 234 civilian casualties that occurred in 2014-2017.   Reporting (2019-2020): • 7 public periodic reports on the human rights situation in Ukraine; • 18 public thematic papers and briefing notes, including series of briefing notes on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; • 8 updates and 20 ad hoc briefs on conflict-related civilian casualties.

The aim of the programme is to improve the observance of human rights in Ukraine, particularly in respect of violations and abuses stemming from the Russian aggression. The programme will aim at raising awareness of human rights violations among Ukrainian stakeholders, the UN system and the broader international community and at developing the capacity of local stakeholders to identify and address human rights violations.