Right-wing groups involved in 34 violations of rights to freedoms in Ukraine - UN

Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Fiona Frazer stated this at the presentation of the new 25th report of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"To bring more light to the current situation with civic space and fundamental freedoms in Ukraine, we have published today a separate report on civic space and fundamental freedoms in Ukraine ahead of presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The report covers the period from January 1, 2018 to January 15, 2019, during which we documented 164 violations of the rights to fundamental freedoms in Ukraine. In at least 34 incidents perpetrators were directly linked or affiliated with extreme right-wing groups," Frazer said.

According to her, providing an overview of trends that had a negative effect on the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Ukraine, the report also details emblematic cases that range from spraying acid on victims to gun injuries that caused the death of two activists.

"Impunity prevails in most of the documented cases. We note the efforts of the government to ensure investigations into high-profile cases, but we call on the authorities to do more to bring all perpetrators to account, including by properly qualifying the crimes and taking into account criminal motives instead of only seeing them as acts of hooliganism," Frazer said.

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