Director of the Russian UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), Matilda Bogner, told media in Geneva that the number of civilian fatalities in the southern city of Mariupol, which was under Russian missile bombardment and siege, had been particularly high.
“My colleagues interviewed a former prisoner of war, and he was from Mariupol and he was forced in Mariupol to collect the bodies on the city streets. He told us that Russian soldiers were expected to meet the daily quota of one truck of corpses per day. And that is, as he said, in Mariupol meeting with that quota was not a problem at all in Ukraine.”
Human price
The most recent figures from the UN human rights office (OHCHR) show that since the Russian incursion on February 24, 2018, at least 8,000 non-combatants have been proven dead and almost 13,300 wounded. The OHCHR team has emphasized this point several times and believes that the real figure is most likely far higher Ukraine.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for His Rights, lamented the human cost of the violence in a statement, saying that violations of international human rights and humanitarian law persist daily. Finding a path through growing misery and devastation, toward peace, gets more difficult with time.
According to Mr. Türk, civilians have been slain “in their houses and while merely attempting to satisfy their necessities, such as gathering water and purchasing food.” They were Olha, age 67, who was murdered in a missile hit only yards from her apartment in Kharkiv the day the conflict started as she was going to get milk.
Serhii, a man in his 60s, held back tears as he told human rights monitors how he witnessed his 6-year-old granddaughter lose a limb in an artillery bombardment when his house in a hamlet close to Kherson got a direct hit on 2 April 2022, according to the UN rights head.
Scale of suffering
Mr. Türk went on to list the hardships that include electricity and water shortages, as well as the fact that nearly 18 million people are in excruciating need of humanitarian assistance, with 14 million people having been displaced from their homes. These stories conceal the true extent of the suffering in Ukraine, he said Ukraine.
Men made up 61.1% of reported civilian deaths, while women made up 39.9%, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). 954 children were hurt and at least 487 died Ukraine.
The rights monitors also discovered that explosive weapons having “wide area impacts,” such as artillery rounds, cruise, and ballistic missiles, and airstrikes, were responsible for more than 90% of civilian fatalities. The majority happened in inhabited regions Ukraine.
The HRMMU team also reported 632 civilian casualties, 219 dead and 413 injured, brought on by mines and explosive remnants of war ovoverhe last year. Their work also involves recording egregious human rights legislation breaches, such as sexual assault, torture, and summary executions Ukraine.
Abuse coming into focus
When asked to describe the kinds of human rights violations discovered in Ukraine, chief monitor Matilda Bogner stated that more than 100 cases of sexual violence associated with armed conflict as well as hundreds of instances of forced disappearances and arbitrary detention had so far been documented Ukraine.
These are only the instances that we have been able to record, the woman explained. “The true scope of these issues is still not completely recognized, but our data indicate that numerous infractions are occurring. In terms of demonstrating the patterns of violations occurring, the data we gather is helpful for international prosecutions Ukraine.
Unsettling evidence regarding violations in Kherson, where locals alleged Russian soldiers’ torture and mistreatment of them up to their withdrawal in November, is still coming in Ukraine.
“It’s a region that was occupied by Russia, and at that time they targeted local government officials, activists, human rights defenders, and those who held pro-Ukrainian beliefs,” Ms. Bogner said. “They were holding them and occasionally forcibly removing them. Some of those persons have come back, while others have not and continue to be jailed, while still others have vanished. Unfortunately, several of them have now been discovered deceased.
The UN rights observer noted “substantial” civilian fatalities in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas. “If you look at explosive weapons, then those who were in occupied territories account for 15% of overall deaths, and the majority of those were in Donbas. We have been meticulously keeping track of the casualties, both alive and dead, on the opposing side of the front line.
Children’s lives scarred
Over a year into the fighting, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a dire warning, stating that “not a single element of children’s life” had been spared Ukraine.”
“Children in Ukraine have been through a year of tragedy,” said Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF. “Millions of kids are going to bed cold and afraid and waking up hopeful this horrific conflict would cease.
Children have been hurt and died, and many have lost their homes, schools, playgrounds, and par the number of children living in poverty has virtually doubled, from 43% to 82%, according to UNICEF. For the 5.9 million individuals who are presently displaced within Ukraine, the situation is particularly dire Ukraine.
The UN agency added, “The conflict is also having a terrible effect on children’s mental health and well-being.” According to estimates, 1.5 million youngsters are susceptible to mental health problems including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other problems, which might have long-term consequences. ents, and siblings. Such agony ought never to be endured by a youngster.
Kherson attack condemned
According to UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, who spoke to media in New York, Ukrainian humanitarians have denounced the attack that occurred in Kherson’s center on Wednesday.
They point out that this is another illustration of the atrocities committed against people ever since this conflict began, he continued.
Humanitarian partners on the ground claim that the attack targeted a main thoroughfare in the port city. At least six people were confirmed dead and 16 more were injured by local officials, the majority of whom were seen waiting for buses.