UN Human Rights Office to release its new report on the impact of COVID-19 on human rights in Ukraine

Matilda Bogner, Head of Mission, will present the report at a press briefing at 13:15 on Thursday, 17 December 2020, at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre (Khreshchatyk Street, 2 (Ukrainian House), Kyiv).

The report covers the period from 20 February 2020 to 6 December 2020. It describes hardships and deprivations faced by the conflict-affected population in eastern Ukraine, in particular because of restrictions on freedom of movement and their impact on the enjoyment of social and economic rights. The report also covers the effect of COVID-19-related restrictions on groups in vulnerable situations, and particularly women and girls within these groups, which include healthcare workers; Roma; persons with disabilities and older persons, in particular those living in long-term care facilities; and persons living in homelessness.

The report concludes with recommendations of targeted actions that will enable the Government and other actors to ensure that human rights are at the core of the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.

The press conference will be in English, with interpretation into Ukrainian and sign language.

Background: Deployed in March 2014, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine monitors, publicly reports and advocates on the human rights situation in the country. The Mission has seven offices around the country: in Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, and Odesa. The Mission carries out remote monitoring of the human rights situation in Crimea, through its offices in Kyiv and Odesa. Every day, human rights officers speak to victims and witnesses of human rights violations throughout the country, including in territory controlled by self-proclaimed ‘republics’ and from Crimea.