UN releases report on human rights in Ukraine

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) released its 32nd report on human rights in Ukraine on Sept. 23. The
report covered the situation in the areas recognized as Ukraine by the UN,
including those outside of the control of the Ukrainian government. The time
frame under consideration was Feb. 1 – July 31 2021.

The OHCHR report noted increases in human rights
violations in occupied Donbas and Crimea including forced recruitment into
armed groups, ceasefire violations and resulting casualties, the enactment of a
law in Donetsk that allows for the expropriation of immovable property
abandoned by civilians, and forced citizenship changes.

OHCHR noted, among other things, judicial and legal
issues on the part of the Ukrainian government. In particular, “the suspension,
dismissal and criminal prosecution of two judges of the Constitutional Court,
jeopardising the independence of the judiciary and rule of law in the country”
was a cause of concern. Also, freedom of expression did not meet international
standards due to the sanctions imposed upon Taras Kozak and the subsequent
closures of TV channels such as ZIK.

James Hydzik: The OHCHR,
in its report, tries to accomplish a mission of viewing the world through a
certain lens, which is roundly criticized every six months when the actions of
the readers’ favorite governments are called out. And due to that lens, the
reasons for the actions of the Ukrainian government in terms of handling the
judges and media simply cannot be taken into consideration. But the report
should not be dismissed wholesale.

The report points to the fact that the right of a
person in Ukraine to conduct business in media is circumscribed, as the case of
Taras Kozak has shown. The issue is indeed political, and not connected
directly with human safety or commercial relations.

Human rights specialists may take exception to the
idea of a non-human protecting itself, but in the cases of the judges and
Kozak, the government’s right to protect itself and the country (all concerned
are still alive, at last report) was exercised, if somewhat clumsily. A
platform committed to human rights would have to contort itself a bit to fit
that in. However, the same government does not need to turn a blind eye to the
behavior of jailors torturing prisoners, and those who dismiss the report as a
whole miss an opportunity to recognize the improvements the Ukrainian
government still has to make.