Human Rights Council 37: UPR Adoption Ukraine
This UK statement was delivered at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review Adoption on Ukraine, held 19 March 2018.
The Human Rights Council takes place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
The UK welcomes Ukraine’s continued engagement in the UPR process. We remain concerned about the human rights situation in the east and in illegally annexed Crimea, with particular concern for the Crimean Tatars, who face regular harassment, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and enforced psychiatric detainment.
Human rights violations and abuses, including extra-judicial killings, illegal detentions, torture, and gender-based violence have been committed by all sides in the Russian instigated conflict in eastern Ukraine. We hope that Ukraine will accept our recommendation to record and investigate these violations and abuses, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
We hope that Ukraine will also accept our recommendation to simplify access to public administrative services for Crimean residents and enable Ukrainian citizens to move smoothly between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine.
We welcome the positive steps Ukraine has made on human trafficking, in particular the 2016-2020 State Social Programme for Combating Trafficking, setting out measures for preventing human trafficking, protecting the rights of victims. We hope that Ukraine will sign the Call to Action and ratify the ILO Protocol of 2014.