The overview of the current social and humanitarian situation, within the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic as a result of hostilities between 17 and 23 June 2017

News Overview of the social and humanitarian situation

 

International standards for the treatment of convicts are internationally accepted norms, principles and recommendations in the field of execution of sentences and the activities of penal institutions. These standards were agreed upon by the international community and, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based on them.

European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1987, established The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which created a mechanism for monitoring compliance with all-European standards in the field of preventing torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in places of deprivation of liberty by member states. According to Article 2 of the Convention, the state that has ratified this international treaty undertakes to permit visits of the members of the Committee, within their competence, to any place within its jurisdiction where persons are deprived of their liberty by a public authority.

The role of the Committee is mainly of a preventive nature: the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is its main objective. The delegation members do not consider the procedural grounds for deprivation of liberty, but only the conditions of detention. The Committee relies on the standards set forth in the European Prison Rules. The Committee shall notify in advance the party concerned of its intention to make a visit (usually two weeks before the visit), of the duration of the visit and the composition of the delegation. After that, the Committee has the right to visit any place of deprivation of liberty of the state at any time.

On June 19, 2017, a report of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture was published according to the results of a visit to the Ukrainian penal colonies No. 25 and No. 100, the pre-trial detention center in Kharkov, Kiev, Khmelnitsky and Odessa within the period between 21 and 30 November, 2016. In the report, the observers noted brutality on the part of representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, who, according to the Committee, continue to force confessions (using clubs or plastic bottles filled with water).

According to the report, in addition to beating up detainees, the Ukrainian police also resorts to other violations: detention without proper registration, failure to guarantee against ill-treatment, in particular the right of access to a lawyer or a doctor, as well as keeping people in custody uncharged for more than 72 hours, poor medical service in prisons.

The Committee members expresses concern about the violence between prisoners and conditions of detention in remand centres. In particular, remand centres in Odessa, Kiev and Khmelnytsky. Conditions of detention in Kyiv and Odessa remand centres deteriorated since 2013-2014 and can now be considered inhuman and degrading. The monitors paid special attention to inhuman conditions.

Unfortunately, the report contains no information on the conditions of detention of persons held in Ukrainian prisons in connection with the armed conflict in the territory of Donbass. And about those methods of unlawful interrogation that are applied to them. All this is a violation of human rights and freedoms.

In the Donetsk People’s Republic Human rights are patronized by the Human rights Ombudsman. Citizens can apply to the Ombudsman in any suitable way. Now, the majority of applications is still verbal and submitted through personal reception either with the Ombudsman or the heads of the Office, addressing the Public Complaints and Appeals Department, via hotlines and via web-reception on the Website of the Ombudsman. There is a possibility to file a written complaint that may be submitted either in person or via e-mail. Since 2017 the Ombudsman received 2906 appeals. In the period of work between 17 and 23June 2017, 22 persons have visited the Ombudsman in person, 41 of the claims were accepted by the Appeals department 34 calls were made via hotlines. 15 applications were received via e-mail, 18 written appeals were taken into consideration, 13 – have been considered among those received earlier, 30 citizens were provided with legal counseling.

All appeals received can be divided into four categories: violations in criminal law – 161 appeals, violations in civil law– 299 appeals, administrative and legal violations against the DPR citizens – 2 appeals, social and humanitarian issues – 2444 appeals (diagram 1).

 

 

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens,  submitted to the Office of DPR Ombudsman as of 23.06.2017

 

 

 

Violations in criminal law

Violations in civil law

Administrative and legal violations against citizens

Issues of social and humanitarian affairs

 

 

 

Among all incoming correspondence to the Ombudsman of DPR, the one which deals with the issues of exercise of social rights of citizens and violations of these rights is the most frequent.  These issues are: pension and social payments – 340 appeals, temporary accommodation – 323 appeals, the order of a complaint submission and paperwork in case of property destruction – 58 appeals, humanitarian assistance – 135 appeals, employment – 115 appeals, paperwork on travelling documents – 8 appeals, search of the missing – 98 appeals, loss of IDs   – 244 appeals, housing issues – 149 appeals, temporary residence permit – 157 appeals, other social and humanitarian issues – 817 appeals (diagram 2).

 

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens on social and humanitarian isses, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 23.06.2017

 

 

 

 

Pension and social payments

Humanitarian assistance

Search of the missing soldiers

Housing issues

Temporary accommodation

Employment

Search of the missing civilians

Temporary residence permit

Paperwork in case of property destruction

Paperwork on travelling documents

Loss of IDs

Other social and humanitarian issues

 

 

 

The majority of complains are traditionally received from Donetsk, by territory (Diagram 3).

 

The number of appeals (complains, applications) from citizens, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 23.06.2017

 

 

 

Donetsk

Yenakievo

Snezhnoye

Yasinovataya

Starobeshevo region

Gorlovka

Zhdanovka

Torez

Amvrosyevka region

Telmanovo region

Debaltsevo

Kirovskoye

Hartsysk

Maryinka region

Shakhtyorsk region

Dokuchaevsk

Makeyevka

Shakhtyorsk

Novoazovsk region

Other settlements

 

 

  1. Statistics and analysis of destroyed infrastructure objects

Targeted shelling by Ukrainian forces causes destruction of private property and infrastructure – this is the reality of the front-line regions of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

As of 22 June 2017 more than 11375 infrastructure objects were partly destroyed (damaged) as a result of hostilities.

More than 6825 objects have been destroyed in Donetsk, 268 units in Debaltsevo, 526 units in Gorlovka, 91 units in Dokuchayevsk, 309 units in Yenakievo, 91 units in Zhdanovka, 75 units in Kirovskoye, 1111 units in Makeyevka, 54 units in Snyezhnoye, 118 units in Torez, 750 units in Khartsysk, 74 units in Shakhtyorsk, 577 units in Yasinovataya, 278 units in Amvrosyevka region, 3 units in Volnovakha region, 24 units in Maryinka region, 17 units in Novoazovsk region, 57 units in Starobeshevo region, 93 units in Telmanovo region, 33 units in Shakhtyorsk region.

Destroyed objects by branches:

– 6236 houses;

– 769 power lines and points of distribution of electricity;

– 175 heating supply facilities;

– 46 water supply facilities;

– 2669 gas supply facilities;

– 14 wastewater and sewerage facilities;

– 102 healthcare facilities;

– 512 general educational institutions (schools, kindergartens);

– 59 vocational and technical educational institutions;

– 62 higher educational institutions;

– 26 physical and sport education institutions;

– 54 cultural institutions;

– 240 road and transport infrastructure objects;

– 59 industrial objects;

– 89 trade objects;

– 263 objects in other spheres.

 

According to the official data as of 6 June 2017 there are 2813 objects of governmental and communal ownership damaged, 530 – rebuilt and 2283 – are to be rebuilt.

 

  1. Estimates of mortality, wounds to civilians and soldiers as a result of hostilities in the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic.

 

Almost every day the DPR Ombudsman’s Office records cases of violations of rights of Donbass citizens by Kiev authorities: right to life, to security of the person, to the inviolability of the home.

On 18 June as a result of hostilities near Yasinovataya multiple two DPR servicemen born in 1958 and 1992 sustained multiple shrapnel wounds of soft tissue of the body, of lower and upper limbs.

On 19 June as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces against  Yasinovataya, a civilian woman born in 1937 sustained mine-blast trauma, open fracture of the upper third of the left shoulder, traumatic amputation of toes and laceration of the lower third of the left thigh and traumatic shock.  Later, she died of her injuries in the hospital.

As a result of hostilities near Yasinovataya, a DPR serviceman born in 1973 sustained closed craniocerebral injury and brain contusion.

As a result of hostilities in Bezymennoye village of Novoazovsk region, a DPR serviceman of 42 years old sustained a gunshot wound of the right shin.

On 22 June, as a result of hostilities near Maryinka a DPR serviceman of 41 years old sustained a mine-blast trauma, penetrating wound of the abdominal and of the chest.

As a result of shelling in Kuibyshevskiy district of Donetsk a civilian man born in 1959 sustained multiple abrasions of both shins, of the right shoulder and of the hand.

 

Within the period between 16 and 22 June 2017, 6 persons sustained injuries of various severities in the territory of the DPR as a result of constant shelling from Ukraine.  Among them, there were 5 DPR servicemen and 1 civilian man.

Within the period between 1 January and 22 June 2017 365 persons sustained injuries of various severities in the territory of the DPR. Among them, there were 209 DPR servicemen and 156 civilians, including 9 children under 18.

Within the period between 16 and 22 June 2017, 4 persons died. Among them there were 2 DPR servicemen, 2 civilian women. On 19 June a civilian woman born in 1998 died as a result of sniping fire against Kominternovo village, Novoazovsk region; another woman died at the hospital of her injuries as a result of shelling in Yasinovataya.

Within the period between 1 January and 22 June 2017, 170 persons, including 150 servicemen and 20 civilians died in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

To be specific, since the beginning of the armed conflict   4459 persons died. Among them, there were 604 women and 3855 men, including 75 children under eighteen.

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. The information is being processed at the moment and it will be included into general statistics of the injured individuals.

 

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

 

On June 21, a regular meeting of the humanitarian subgroup took place in Minsk. The participants discussed Certificates of Release, which should have been provided by Ukrainian representatives as it was previously agreed.

“Unfortunately, most of them do not comply with the Annex No. 9, approved the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The flip side of the approved document was not provided. Therefore, in order not to delay the negotiations, I proposed that we study the information provided by the Ukrainian side and send a written response hereof at the beginning of the next week.

Among other things, we agreed to recognize the results of verification, so I can state its successful completion. As a result of the two-step verification, individuals who did not confirm the refusal signed under the pressure of the Ukrainian special services were identified.”– commented the Ombudsman.

 

This week 6 appeals on capture were received by the Ombudsman’s Office in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

A man born in 1962 was detained at “Novotroitskoye” checkpoint on his way to the territory temporary controlled by Ukraine to receive pension. Another man born in 1980 was detained in early June in Konstantinovka. In May 2017 a man born in 1975 was detained at “Novotroitskoye” checkpoint on his way to Berdyansk. In April 2017 a man born in 1980 was detained on Zaporozhye oblast. It was also reported that a woman born in 1979 was detained in one of the Ukrainian checkpoints in August 2016.

This week, no appeals on the missing persons were received.

Based on the updated figures as of 23.06.2017, 735 persons are kept by the Ukrainian side including:

419 of those whose presence on the territory of Ukraine had been confirmed. As reported to the Ombudsman’s Office, 7 persons were excluded from the list. They received suspended sentences and were released;

303 persons whose whereabouts are unknown or are being clarified by the Ukrainian side.

As of 23 June 2017, 450 persons are considered missing.

The Ombudsman`s Office continues to clarify information about the individuals, who were detained by the Ukrainian side, the statistics may change.

The DPR Ombudsman`s Office will no longer publicly categorize the detainees by “serviceman”, “arrested for political reasons”, “civilian irrelevant to the conflict” due to safety considerations.

 

  1. Register of forcibly displaced persons.

 In April 14, 2014 the so-called antiterrorist operation of Ukraine was started against Donbass residents. We, as Donbass residents, consider this date the beginning of a full-scale war waged by the illegitimate Kiev Government against its own people. The fighting, blockade regime and political persecution by Ukrainian security forces lead to an increased number of temporary displaced persons who move to the Donetsk People’s Republic.

According to the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, every year since 2001 we observe World Refugee Day on June 20. On this day, we glorify the spirit and courage of refugees around the world who are forced to start a new life from scratch and become full members of society in difficult and unforeseen circumstances.

World Refugee Day is a sad testimony that the wars constantly take place all around the world. According to the UN, the number of refugees in the world in 2016 reached a record 65.6 million people forced to leave their homes. Among them: 22.5 million are refugees; 40.4 million – internally displaced persons; 2.8 million – have applied for asylum. The sad statistics shows that 80% of all refugees in the world are women and children under the age of 18.

 

“The data on internally displaced persons evidence the embarrasing failure of international diplomacy. You see that the old conflicts drag on, and the emerging conflicts cause the displacement of people. Forced displacement is a symbol of wars that never end,” – said the UN Commissioner for Refugees Philippo Grandi.

 

In the Donetsk People’s Republic, citizens who need temporary housing have the opportunity to apply to state institutions of the Republic to receive a referral for a Temporary Accommodation Centre (TACs). In the Republic, the Office of the Ombudsman deals directly with the issues of forced temporary immigrants. The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office deals with the issues if temporary displaced persons.

Every resident of Donbass region, including those living in areas temporarily controlled by Kiev, can apply to the Office and receive assistance. The body has temporary accommodation centres (TACs) at its disposal available for people who need temporary accommodation.

1282 IDPs now live in temporary accommodation of the Office, including 251 underage children. Since the beginning of the conflict 5131 referrals for temporary accommodation have been issued, 233 of them – in 2017. All the TACs are under the DPR Ombudsman’s inspection. The staffs of the Office monitor the TACs on the weekly basis, with the view to respond promptly to the citizens’ needs. The Ombudsman makes every effort to improve social and living conditions for people who live in the TACs.

During the period of work between 17 and 23 June 2017, 26 persons have applied to the Ombudsman’s Office on the issues related to internally displaced persons, 4 of them were accommodated in the TACs of the Ombudsman`s Office in Donetsk, Makeyevka ad Khartsysk.

There are currently 1404 housing spots available for IDPs. Among them: 1348 – in DPR Temporary Accommodation Centres (including TACs of Ombudsman`s Office); 433 – in TACs of the Ombudsman`s Office; 56 – in housing fund of the DPR.

It is necessary to remind that there are 8083 persons, including 2112 children under the age of eighteen registered since the beginning of the conflict. 68 temporary settlements have been established within the territory of DPR, 57 of them operate today, 11 of them are held in reserve. Currently, 2880 individuals live in the centres, including 569 underage children, 5203 persons live in the housing fund of DPR, including 1543 children under eighteen.

 

  1. Employment of DPR citizens

On June 21, 2017, a briefing was given by the director of the Republican Employment Centre on the results of work of the body and its regional offices since the beginning of 2017.

During the briefing, it was announced that there were 27,000 job seekers registered in the regional offices of the Republican Employment Centre of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of the Donetsk People’s Republic, since the beginning of 2017. 11,000 of them were young people under the age of 35 and 12.7 thousand were women.

It is worth noting that employment centers located in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic regularly conduct career-oriented seminars for job seekers. During the first 5 months of this year, 15,400 people took part in the seminars on job-search techniques, 6,900 people – in the seminars on temporary jobs.

Since the beginning of 2017, the Republican Employment Centres have registered 8.2 thousand employment contracts, concluded between individuals and individual entrepreneurs with employees.

In the current period, starting from 2017, the Employment Centres of the Donetsk People’s Republic had information on 15,300 vacancies received from employers, including: for working professions – 7,800; civil servants – 5,2 thousand; nonprofessional occupations – 2.3 thousand. The average payment was 6050 rubles.

 

“Employment Centres received 16 thousand vacancies for permanent jobs, which is 12.6% more as compared to June 2016 – 14.3 thousand. The increase in the number of vacancies shows that our employment centres fruitfully cooperate with employers, “- summed up Larisa Tolstykina.

 

The Republic Employment Center is the main state organ responsible for providing jobs to citizens. According to their data, 16,5 thousands of vacancies were available in the common database as of 23.06.2017. As of 23 June 2017, there were 29,2 thousand individuals who seek for job, registered in the Republic Employment Centers. Among them: 24,2 thousand have been employed (10,5 of them – on permanent positions, 13,7 – temporarily).

Donetsk Centre of Vocational Education of The Republic Employment Centre organizes regular free public workshops to train practical skills, such as work with personal computers; technique and mechanization of trade accounts (work with cash register machines); the program “1C: Accounting 8.2.”; fundamentals of entrepreneurship; processing and decoration of textile and clothing products etc. Since the beginning of 2017, 211 persons participated in those workshops.