UN mission notes lack of clarity in Donbas bill

UN mission notes lack of clarity in Donbas bill

The UN monitoring mission on human rights in Ukraine notes that the draft law on securing Ukraine's sovereignty over the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (No. 7163) lacks clarity in the issue of regulatory and legal support for the protection of the rights and freedoms of the population of the uncontrolled part of Donbas.

"Although legislation applying to Crimea is mentioned as forming the legal basis for human rights protection in eastern Ukraine, its transposition appears to require adjustments without which the legal certainty requirement may not be satisfied," the 20th report on the human rights situation in Ukraine by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented in Kyiv on December 12, reads.

"OHCHR takes note of the intention of the legislator to define, in legally binding terms, the conflict in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, it underlines that this position should not be used to impose a narrative - and introduce legal sanctions - restricting the freedom of opinion and expression," the report reads.