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UN expert on summary executions to visit Ukraine
17 May 2024
GENEVA (17 May 2024) – The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Dr Morris Tidball-Binz, will make an official visit to Ukraine from 20 to 31 May 2024, at the invitation of the Government.
Tidball-Binz will examine how unlawful deaths are investigated, primarily those resulting from the current armed conflict, including extrajudicial executions, deaths in custody and gender-based killings. He will also look at how the rights of victims are addressed.
“I will be adopting a victim-centred approach, giving particular attention to the rights of victims and their families to truth, justice and reparation,” the expert said. The Special Rapporteur will also assess legislative and institutional frameworks in place to effectively prevent and investigate unlawful deaths and the level of implementation of recommendations from his mandate’s previous visit in 2015.
During his visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with State authorities, national and international investigative bodies, civil society organisations, as well as victims and their families.
The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on Friday 31 May 2024, at 14:00* local time at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 5 Alla Tarasova Street, Kyiv, Paris Hall. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The expert will present the report on his visit to the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2025.
*This news release has been updated to reflect a change to the time of the Special Rapporteur’s press conference in Kiev.
The expert: Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, is a medical doctor specialised in forensic science, human rights and humanitarian action. He is currently an Adjunct Clinical Professor in Forensic Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia, Visiting Senior Associate Researcher, University of Chicago and a Visiting Professor of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Ethics and Medical Law, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal and of the Department of Biomedical Health Sciences, University of Milano, Italy. Mr. Tidball-Binz previously worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where he helped to establish and served as the first director of the Forensic Services and Unit. He also co-founded and directed the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, an organization that pioneered the application of scientific methods to investigate serious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page - Ukraine
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