UN Commission plans 2nd trip to Ukraine to investigate rights abuses

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - A UN Commission investigating human rights violations in Ukraine is planning a second trip to the country before the end of the year, a senior official said Wednesday.

UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that Ukrainians have been subjected to some of the most intense bombardments during the nine-month-old war.

''Russian missiles and drones have rained down on Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava and elsewhere, destroying or damaging homes and severely disrupting critical services.'' she said and warned that the effect of such attacks can only worsen during the coming winter months.

She said the ongoing bombardment of Ukraine has already damaged an estimated 40% of the country’s power-generation capacity and most parts of Kyiv are now without electricity for 12 hours per day.

DiCarlo said attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

''The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine continues its work towards accountability for alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law with ongoing investigations in and out of Ukraine. The Commissioners are planning another visit to Ukraine before the end of the year,'' said DiCarlo.

She said the UN human rights office, OHCHR, continues to document human rights violations, including 57 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence.

''Forty-eight of these cases are attributable to Russian armed forces and affiliated groups; nine are attributable to Ukrainian armed forces and law enforcement authorities,'' she said.

More than 6,500 people were killed and over 10,000 injured since the start of Russia's full-scale war against its neighbor on Feb. 24, according to the UN.