Mr. President,

The armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has resulted in the mass forced displacement of civilians in Ukraine. Some 7 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine, and millions more have sought refuge outside of the country.

Intense hostilities, including large-scale destruction of critical civilian infrastructure and housing, have forced many people to flee their homes. Human rights violations in territory occupied by the Russian Federation, or controlled by affiliated armed groups, have also caused people to flee.

These conditions have led to a situation in which those fleeing danger often felt compelled to evacuate in whichever direction was possible, irrespective of their preferences. Our Office has documented a significant number of cases of civilians who were displaced to the Russian Federation, including about a dozen cases where members of the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups ordered civilians in Mariupol to leave their homes or shelters, and brought them to territory in Ukraine under their control, or to the Russian Federation.

Once displaced in the territory of the Russian Federation, in the cases documented by OHCHR, civilians have had freedom of movement. Many Ukrainians have chosen to either travel onward to other countries or to return to Ukraine. However, those who chose to return to Ukraine were not provided with financial resources or other support to do so. For those who have been taken to remote regions of the Russian Federation, the costs of return may be particularly prohibitive. OHCHR notes that in situations where persons have been ordered by the occupying power to evacuate for their own safety, or for imperative military reasons, those who wish to return must be brought back to their homes as soon as hostilities have ceased.

There have been credible allegations of forced transfers of unaccompanied children to Russian occupied territory, or to the Russian Federation itself. We are concerned that the Russian authorities have adopted a simplified procedure to grant Russian citizenship to children without parental care, and that these children would be eligible for adoption by Russian families. Under Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Russian Federation is prohibited from changing these children’s personal status, including nationality. Moreover, we are particularly concerned that the announced plans of the Russian authorities to allow the movement of children from Ukraine to families in the Russian Federation do not appear to include steps for family reunification or in other ways ensure respect for the principle of the best interests of the child.

Mr. President,

Our Office has verified that Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups subject civilians to so-called ‘filtration’, a system of security checks and personal data collection. Individuals subjected to ‘filtration’ include those leaving areas of ongoing or recent hostilities, and those residing in or moving through territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. Although security checks are not prohibited under international humanitarian law, we are concerned that such checks, and detentions that may follow, take place outside any legal framework and do not respect the principles of necessity and proportionality. The practice has resulted, according to credible reports received by OHCHR, in numerous human rights violations, including of the rights to liberty, security of person and privacy.

In cases that our Office has documented, during ‘filtration’, Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups have subjected persons to body searches, sometimes involving forced nudity, and detailed interrogations about the personal background, family ties, political views and allegiances of the individual concerned. They examined personal belongings, including mobile devices, and gathered personal identity data, pictures and fingerprints. In some cases, those awaiting ‘filtration’ spent nights in vehicles, or in unequipped and overcrowded premises, sometimes without adequate access to food, water and sanitation. We are particularly concerned that women and girls are at risk of sexual abuse during ‘filtration’ procedures.

OHCHR has documented that men and women perceived as having ties with Ukrainian armed forces or state institutions, or as having pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian views, were subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance. They were transferred to penal colonies, including the now infamous penal colony near Olenivka, and pre-trial detention centers, where they were interrogated and sometimes tortured to extract a so-called ‘confession’ of their active cooperation with the Government of Ukraine. Some detainees were released after one or two months, while others remain detained as of today, with no or little information for their families about their whereabouts and fate.

Our Office has been seeking access to individuals detained after failing to pass ‘filtration’, and to those who reportedly passed ‘filtration’ but were nevertheless detained and sent to a ‘centre for evacuees’ in Bezimenne, in Donetsk region, close to the border with the Russian Federation. OHCHR has not been granted access to these individuals, and is concerned that they may be subjected to torture or ill-treatment while being held incommunicado.

Mr. President,

Forced displacement entails great risks for civilians. It not only gravely impacts their lives, dignity and health, but also negatively affects their economic and social rights. Since 24 February, we have documented a significant deterioration in access to adequate housing, social security and livelihood opportunities for displaced persons, in particular for people and groups in vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, Roma people, and older persons. Many of them are staying for prolonged periods of time in degrading conditions in ill-equipped short-term shelters. We also have concerns that the deterioration of the economic situation, mass displacement and destruction of social ties have heightened risks of sexual violence and trafficking, especially for women and girls, who make up the vast majority of refugees.

OHCHR is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and the broader region, paying particular attention to groups in vulnerable situations and at higher risks of human rights violations, including trafficking. Risks of trafficking can also arise in a later phase, when people have exhausted their savings or when States reduces the scope of their protection or social assistance. Receiving States should put in place systematic protection and security measures, such as gender-based violence risk mitigation with elements of prevention, reporting and services for survivors of violence, including trafficking and other forms of exploitation.

Members of the Council,

We urge the Russian Federation to grant unimpeded and confidential access to our Office and other independent international monitors to all places of detention under their control, notably to places where people who underwent ‘filtration’ are being detained. The Russian Federation is also called upon to provide representatives of international human rights and humanitarian organizations with unhindered, timely and safe access to persons from conflict-affected areas of Ukraine that are now in the Russian Federation or in areas of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation.

Lastly, we urge the international community to continue supporting citizens and residents of Ukraine who had to flee their home.

Thank you.