UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD UKRAINE Population size1 Surface area1 Human Development Index2 NHRI (if applicable)3 44.01 million 604,000 km² 0.751 (rank: 90/188 in 2016) Status A, 2014 Type of engagement Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) Year established 2014 Field office(s) Kyiv; field offices in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Luhansk, Mariupol and Odesa UN partnership framework United Nations Partnership Framework 20182022 Staff as of 31 December 2018 46 Total income US$4,556,283 XB requirements 2018 US$6,872,000 Total XB expenditure US$5,297,912 Personnel Non-personnel PSC† 69% 21% 10% $3,649,382 $1,100,320 $548,210 Key OMP pillars in 2018 123 Peace and Security (PS) PS3 – State authorities and non-State actors protect and promote the human rights of populations living in territories affected by conflict. † Please refer to Data sources and notes on p.191. KEY PILLAR RESULTS: Accountability (A) A1 – State institutions hold to account a higher proportion of those who are responsible for grave violations of human rights or humanitarian law. Due to consistent efforts undertaken by OHCHR, the compliance of State institutions and programmes with international human rights norms and standards has increased. In 2018, the Office continued to document serious conflict-related human rights violations and abuses attributable to all parties, thereby promoting accountability for human rights violations, including the torture 300 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 In partnership with UNDP, the Office worked towards improving the legislative framework on torture prevention in line with the international obligations of Ukraine (CAT and the recommendations issued by SPT, CPT and SRT); ensuring the proper documentation of torture cases in line with the Istanbul Protocol; building the capacity of law enforcement bodies to more effectively investigate torture and ill-treatment; and building a zero-tolerance culture for torture and ill-treatment committed by all national actors. Following UN engagement with the Ministry of Justice and the Ombudsperson’s Office, the Government approved a “Roadmap on implementation of the recommendations of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment following its visit to Ukraine in 2016”. and ill-treatment of individuals deprived of their liberty. The advocacy of the HRMMU specifically focused on building the awareness of State institutions about the Istanbul Protocol, an international accountability framework on the investigation and documentation of torture. This resulted in the enhanced knowledge of various stakeholders regarding international standards that are related to accountability mechanisms. In May, the Office facilitated the visit of the Special Rapporteur on torture and provided a forum for discussions between all stakeholders, including those across the Contact Line. The level of compliance of legislation/policy with international human rights norms and standards has improved in a number of areas, including the payment of pensions to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and conflict-affected persons; the registration of births and deaths occurring in territories not controlled by the Government; and the facilitation of the movement of civilians across the Contact Line. The human rights reports prepared by the HRMMU include an analysis of the human rights challenges being faced by populations living in the conflict-affected areas of Ukraine. These reports have become instrumental to State authorities and nonState actors in evaluating the compliance of their responses. During the reporting period, the Office issued four periodic quarterly reports, which highlighted violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law and two thematic reports. The thematic reports focused on the human rights violations and abuses and international humanitarian law violations that were committed in the context of the Ilovaisk events and the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. All of the reports included specific recommendations for national stakeholders on addressing human rights challenges. In relation to the provision of legal advice and the referral of individual cases during the reporting period, the Office undertook 1,844 follow-up actions on individual cases on both sides of the Contact Line. The actions advocated for inclusive, non-discriminatory and gender-sensitive policies and legislation. The HRMMU raised human rights concerns in more than 100 meetings with government representatives throughout Ukraine, including in territories controlled by the armed groups. As a result of collaborative advocacy between OHCHR and the Parliamentary Committee on human rights, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the law ”On the legal status of missing persons” and introduced into national legislation the prohibition of enforced disappearance as defined in international law and made violation of this prohibition a criminal offence in line with the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Ukraine became a party to in June 2015. The law entered into force on 2 August. The HRMMU conducted a joint UN advocacy campaign in partnership with UNHCR, OCHA and UNICEF, which highlighted three key policy areas that would contribute to fostering social cohesion and peacebuilding in Ukraine. In particular, the campaign promoted policies that would guarantee the rights of all citizens to pensions, birth registration and freedom of movement, regardless of their place of residence. As a result of the campaign, the HRMMU partnered with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs to develop an administrative procedure for the registration of births and deaths occurring in territories not controlled by the Government. In addition, the campaign call for de-linking the payment of pensions from IDP registration was taken up by the Kyiv appellate administrative court, which found that residence verification requirements for IDPs limited access to pensions and social payments and resulted in discrimination against IDPs as compared to other Ukrainian pensioners. This judgment was supported by the Supreme Court and rendered null and void the relevant provisions of the Government regulations. aspects of the strategy were integrated into the revised National Action Plan on UN Security Council resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security.” In September, the Government adopted a revised National Action Plan and incorporated targeted actions for duty-bearers to make the necessary legal amendments, integrate capacity-building of the security sector and law enforcement agencies on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and adopt guidance notes for the investigation of CRSV cases. PS3 – State authorities adopt and implement laws and programmes that prevent sexual violence from occurring in the context of conflict, violence and insecurity; they investigate and prosecute cases of sexual violence that occur. The UN guidelines on incorporating a human rights-based approach have been increasingly applied by specific programmes of UN entities in Ukraine. Oversight, accountability and protection mechanisms that conform to international human rights standards were strengthened through the provision of technical assistance and expert legal advice on conflict-related sexual violence. Following the publication of the February 2017 thematic report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, the HRMMU and UN Women assisted the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on Europe and EuroAtlantic Integration of Ukraine to develop a strategy to prevent and address conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine, which was endorsed by the Deputy Prime Minister in November 2018. In June, key Some of the legal gaps underlined in the 2017 thematic report on CRSV, namely the definition of rape and sexual violence, have been addressed by the amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which entered into force on 11 January 2019. PS3 – The UN’s early warning systems and strategies in Ukraine integrate and update human rights information and analysis. The Office provided technical support to the UNCT on the implementation of the UN Partnership Framework (UNPF) between the Government and the UN system in Ukraine by using a human rights-based approach to programming. Specifically, the HRMMU provided expertise on data that relates to human rights and gender equality to strengthen the accountability of governmental institutions towards rights-holders. The Office co-led Pillar 3 of the new UNPF (“Democratic governance, rule of law and civic participation”), formulated its outcomes and indicators and was involved in the implementation of Pillar 4 (“Human security, social cohesion and recovery with a particular focus on eastern Ukraine”). UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 301