The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on June 18 issued a report that cites increasing evidence of abductions, detentions, torture and killings in the two eastern regions of Ukraine where armed groups hold control. The report also cites a number of worrying trends emerging in Crimea. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the armed groups in Donetsk and Luhansk to "stop taking themselves, and the people living in their regions, down this dead end, which is leading simply to misery, destruction, displacement and economic deprivation... [A]ll they have achieved is a climate of insecurity and fear which is having a hugely detrimental impact on many thousands of people."

The 58-page report covers the one-month period from May 7 to June 7, and it marks the third report produced by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission Unit (HRMMU) since it was deployed by Pillay in March. According to the report and confirmed by NGO's in the region, the armed groups have seized administrative buildings and obtained access to the personal data of pro-Ukranian activists that have participated in rallies, which has led to threats of violence and several thousand displaced from their homes. Similarly, pro-Ukrainian residents in Crimea have faced intimidation.

From Jurist, June 20. Used with permission.