INTRODUCTION
The past year has become a true test for our country. The Revolution of Dignity,
occupation of Crimea, the start of hostilities in Eastern Ukraine, and spread of terrorist threat
across the country created new challenges for the national preventive mechanism that had to
adapt quickly in rapidly changing environment.
For instance, during the Revolution of Dignity, the NPM made it possible to obtain upto-date information about the fate of Maidan activists subjected to mass detentions by law
enforcement officials. In close cooperation with the Department of Special Proceedings of the
Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of
the NPM Department were performing functions of urgent response regularly verifying
information on human rights violations in different institution, responding to concrete
complaints about torture and ill-treatment. The first chapter of the Report describes identified
violations and acts of response of the Commissioner. An in-depth account is presented in the
Special Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights titled “Violations of Human Rights in
Ukraine during events of November 2013 – February 2014”.
Importantly, materials of the Special Report were used in preparation of submission to
the International Criminal Court in The Hague by nongovernmental organizations in
cooperation with the Secretariat of the Commissioner. The aim of the submission was to call
for consideration of initiating proceedings into crimes against humanity committed during the
Revolution of Dignity. In fact, the Commissioner’s report was the first official document with
a systemized account of all human rights violations that took place during the Revolution of
Dignity.
In addition, all materials of proceedings, including correspondence of the Commissioner
for Human Rights with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Internal
Affairs on the matter of investigation of human rights violations, were submitted to the
International Advisory Panel (IAP) on Ukraine of the Council of Europe. The International
Advisory Panel was constituted by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to oversee
the investigations into the violent incidents which took place in Ukraine during Maidan
protests from 30 November 2013 to 21 February 2014. In his letter to the Commissioner for
Human Rights, the IAP chairman and the former President of the European Court of Human
Rights commended the expert level of materials collected in the framework of the
Commissioner’s proceedings, as well as expressed gratitude for support to the investigation of
violations during the Revolution of Dignity.
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