#DonbassTragedy:
War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Ukrainian Military-Political Leadership in Donbass
An online exhibition depicting the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Ukrainian military-political leadership in Donbass. Materials used in the exhibition were provided by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Russia Today, representatives of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.
Warning! Viewer discretion is strongly advised! The contents of these materials are extremely graphic! But so was the life for the citizens of Donbass over the last 8 years...
47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly Joint Statement on violations of freedom of assembly in the Western Europe and the United States of America 1 July 2021
47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly
Joint Statement on violations of freedom of assembly in the Western Europe and the United States of America
1 July 2021
Madam President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of group countries.
For over a year people around the world have been living in an environment marked by the pandemic and the associated restrictions. Growing socio-economic tensions and inequality caused by pandemic prompted many to take to the streets.
In most Western European countries as well as in the USA mass anticoronavirus demonstrations also brought about a number of long-standing problems while authorities’ reaction on them was mostly extremely violent and brutal. Water cannons, mounted police, pepper spray, police dogs were used this spring in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and in the USA.
In the United Kingdom the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill expanded the powers of the police, allowing it to restrict even peaceful demonstrations. Peaceful protests against the Bill were suppressed by force, like it happened in Manchester and in Bristol this March. Moreover, the riots in
the Northern Ireland provoked by the dissatisfaction of certain groups of the population with the conditions of Brexit have been going on unabated for several months now.
We are not seeking to excuse people who are reluctant to follow the established rules for the containment of COVID-19. But we do believe that gassing, beating with truncheons and setting dogs on them were clearly disproportionate and excessively harsh measures.
All these actions by the Western European and US authorities in relation to mass protests, including the excessive use of force, clearly violate freedom of
expression and assembly; in a number of cases they also encroach on freedom of the media and on the safety of journalists.
We urge the above-mentioned States to strictly comply with their human rights obligations. It is necessary to tackle not the consequences but the causes of alarming developments, among which are rising socio-economic inequality in the context of the pandemic, mass unemployment and pauperization of the population. Not to mention the problems linked to systemic racism and the surge in neo-Nazism, Antisemitism and religious intolerance. We call on the Council and its special procedures, namely Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Assembly to closely monitor and duly respond to such acts.
Thank you for your attention.
Official Sources
