US State Department: Ukraine's main problems are the Donbas, Crimea, and corruption
On Thursday, April 14th, the US State Department published the annual report on human rights violations in Ukraine. Among the main problems in Ukraine are the situations in the east and in Crimea, corruption and oppression of ethnic, religious and sexual minorities as well as the official impunity of the perpetrators of violations of human rights.
The separatists, supported by the Russian military, continue to control parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the report stated. At the start of the fighting and until mid-November 2015, according to UN estimates, nine thousand people were killed and eighteen thousand were injured, including civilians, the Ukrainian military and the separatists themselves. More than two million people fled the region.
The separatists are systematically engaged in torture, abductions and illegal detentions of people. Government forces were also culpable for these acts, although to a lesser extent. In addition, the separatists use children as soldiers and limit access to humanitarian assistance, the report stated.
The government of Ukraine, in turn, has imposed restrictions on freedom of movement. Internally displaced persons face difficulties in obtaining documents, education, pensions, access to financial institutions and medical care, the US experts say.
In addition, in annexed Crimea, the Russian authorities "committed a series of human rights violations" against ethnic and religious communities, especially in relation to the Crimean Tatars as well as independent journalists and those who are perceived as opposed to the Russian regime. Due to the annexation of Crimea, more than twenty thousand inhabitants of the Peninsula were forced to leave their homes.
Another problem is corruption and the shortcomings of the legal system. Human rights defenders and the UN note that in some cases human rights have been violated by intelligence agencies. The Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Interior Affairs especially have acted with impunity. Corruption is also a concern in the Prosecutor General's Office and the judicial system.
Other problems reported during the year are crimes against the detainees, particularly beatings and alleged torture against detainees and prisoners. There are also concerns over the harsh conditions of detention, social violence against women and abuse of children, human trafficking, and discrimination and harassment against ethnic, religious and sexual minorities and people living with HIV and AIDS.
There are also restrictions on the rights of the workers to strike and the inability to enforce effective labor legislation and measures for health protection in the workplace.
The government generally failed to take adequate steps to prosecute or punish the officials most responsible for the violations that led to the creation of a "climate of impunity,” the report’s authors stress. The investigation of the shootings on Maidan and the mass riots in Odessa have remained unresolved for more than a year, as have the cases of human rights violations in Crimea and the Donbas region.