The overview of the current social and humanitarian situation in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of hostilities between 31 October and 6 November 2020

News Overview of the social and humanitarian situation

The current week in the Republic was marked by several significant occasions.

On November 4, residents of the DPR celebrated National Unity Day. This day is one of the public holidays in the Republic and is especially close and significant for the citizens of Donbas. It marks our deep connection with Russia, loyalty to the Fatherland and spiritual values, symbolizes cohesion of the people and its ability to unite in difficult times.

Today, the theme of integrity and solidarity of the society is more relevant than ever for our state, as well as for the entire civilized world. After all, only by overcoming disagreements and joining forces, the world community is able to resist the deadly coronavirus infection COVID-19 and minimize its disastrous consequences. It is important to understand that the pandemic undermines the enjoyment of human rights and puts people at particular risk in areas of armed conflict and humanitarian crisis.

On 3 November, this topic, in particular, was discussed at the meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN). During the event, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed called the COVID-19 pandemic a “common enemy” and urged the Security Council to seek a global ceasefire.

Even sceptics, who sarcastically spoke about the pandemic in spring, cannot deny the seriousness of the threats posed by COVID-19. According to the data on 6 November, there are 49 034 766 registered and confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection in the world. This week, a new anti-record of the daily number of cases that is 9721 was recorded in neighbouring Ukraine, and the total number of infected people since the beginning of the pandemic is 440 188 people. Today, 7485 patients have confirmed diagnosis in the DPR.

Obviously, in such circumstances, the cessation of hostilities should become a top priority for everyone. Darya Morozova, Human Rights Ombudsman in the DPR, supports these peacekeeping initiatives and calls on states to lay down their arms.

The Donetsk People’s Republic confirms its desire for peace, fulfilling the agreements on for settling the conflict in Donbas, reached within the framework of the Minsk negotiations. However, official Kiev took an absolutely opposite position. Ukraine is openly pedalling the process for adopting key political, economic and humanitarian decisions that are critically needed to ensure silence on Donetsk land.

Moreover, the armed formations of Ukraine (AFU) resumed shelling of the populated areas of the Republic, thereby violating the open-ended ceasefire. The DPR representative office in the Joint Control and Coordination Center records the facts of the engineering equipping of the Ukrainian positions. Representatives of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the reports provided the information on the deployment of the AFU equipment in violation of the In the reports of the observers of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, information is provided on the deployment of AFU equipment in violation of the withdrawal lines and out of the allocated storage sites.

Another significant point is that the DPR and LPR have developed and submitted for consideration within the framework of the Contact Group a draft Roadmap for settling the conflict in Donbas in accordance with the Minsk agreements. As a result of the meeting, which took place on 28 October, representatives of the official Kiev committed themselves on 4 November to provide counter-proposals on this key document.

But, alas, the Ukrainian version of the Roadmap did not appear within the agreed period. And only the next day, under the growing pressure of media interest, the head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Contact Group Leonid Kravchuk commented on the situation. In an interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency, he announced that the “Joint Steps Plan” is set and there is the intention to send the document to the coordinator. Mr. Kravchuk also voiced some of the messages that Ukraine has included in its “Plan”. But, unfortunately, the analysis of these theses neutralizes hopes for a constructive dialogue, since they contradict the Minsk agreements. For example, according to Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine will insist on demilitarizing the territories of the DPR and LPR, gaining control of the border with the Russian Federation. After that, local elections must be held in the Republics in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. Kiev also wants to achieve the cancellation of decisions that allow residents of the DPR and LPR to obtain Russian citizenship in a simplified manner. A separate item is to provide for a mechanism for identifying and prosecuting persons connected with military actions in Donbas.

The abovementioned facts hardly refer to the humane intentions of the Ukrainian side… One cannot ignore such a destructive position of the opponents. In this regard, the statement by the Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin is logical, in which he announced holding between 10 and 14 November an inspection of the effectiveness of joint actions of the Ministry of Emergencies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport in case of possible external threats from Ukraine. “Using terrorist methods of waging war, operating with dastardly provocations and diversions, Ukrainian militants are clearly aimed at destabilizing the situation… System control of the readiness of all government structures to eliminate the consequences of crisis situations, their level of interaction and responsiveness is the guarantee of safety of our citizens and the strong defense of the Republic”, – said the Head of the DPR.

The Ombudsman continues to attentively explore and monitor the humanitarian situation in the Republic, also call citizens for being careful and follow the essential sanitary-epidemiological norms, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

 

Since the beginning of 2020, the Ombudsman received 4690 complaints.

All received complaints can be divided into nine categories: personal rights – 2030 complaints, economic rights – 185 complaints, social rights – 686 complaints; guarantees of human rights in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings – 440 complaints; enforcement of human rights in penitentiary institutions – 130 complaints; enforcement of rights in the field of education – 15 complaints; enforcement of rights in the field of healthcare – 133 complaints; enforcement of rights of mothers, children and families – 43 complaints, issues connected with the political and military situation in DPR – 1028 complaints.

 

  1. Death toll, injuries to civilians and soldiers as a result of hostilities in the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic

The DPR Ombudsman’s Office documents cases of violations of Donbas citizens’ rights by the Ukrainian side, including the right to life, personal integrity and freedom of movement.

Within the period between 31 October and 6 November 2020, in the territory of the Republic, no injured and dead people among the civilian population were fixed.

Within the period between 1 January and 6 November 2020, in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, 31 civilians (including 6 children and 11 women) sustained injuries and traumas of varying severities as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine.

Within the period between 1 January and 6 November 2020, in the territory of the DPR, 5 civilians died as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine.

Officially confirmed information on individuals who have been wounded since the beginning of the conflict continues to be reported to the Ombudsman’s Office in DPR.

 

  1. Register of the prisoners of war, missing soldiers and civilians

Based on the updated figures as of 6th November 2020, there are about 103 people detained by the Ukrainian side:

– one person was removed from the list in the absence of the need to search.

There are 362 people are in the list of missing persons.

 

  1. Register of displaced persons and affected citizens

At the time of armed conflict, the civilian population living in the zone of fighting and near the contact line is often affected. With the view to protect the human right to life and security of the person, and to provide assistance to victims as a result of armed aggression by Ukraine, social housing objects (dormitories, preventative clinics, health care centers).

With the coming into force of the Order of the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic No. 137 of 24.04.2018, Territorial commissions in cities and districts are now responsible for accommodating affected civilians. They work under supervision of the Republican Commission on Resettlement of Affected Persons chaired by the DPR Human Rights Ombudsman.

There are currently 927 accommodation places in the Donetsk People’s Republic available for citizens of this category. 64 social housing objects have been opened in the territory of DPR. 55 of them operate, 9 of them are held in reserve. Since the beginning of the conflict, 6880 people, including 1548 children have been registered as persons affected as a result of the conflict. Currently, 2043 people live in social housing objects of the Donetsk People’s Republic, including 365 underage children, 4837 people live in the housing fund, including 1183 children.