Report: Ukraine among states with worst human rights records

Interfax-Ukraine

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has referred to Ukraine as one of the countries seeing the most serious violations against human rights activists.

Latvia, Iraq, Uganda, Rwanda, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Burma are also criticized in the report, which covers the period from January 2010 to April 2011. The report's results were announced at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

Concerning Ukraine, the document mentions journalist Vasyl Klymentyev, who disappeared in 2010, and prosecutions and attacks on human rights activists Ruslan Zabily, Andriy Fedosov, Andriy Bondarenko and Dmytro Groysman.

Moreover, according to the report, human rights activists are also under increased pressure in Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey, Egypt and Algeria.

"In the frames of the 'incomplete transition period' in the countries of the former Soviet Union, human right activists are under constant threat, and we must underline our consistent support for the activities of these women and men," the document read.

At the same time, FIDH observed "almost full guarantees for the freedom of the activities of human rights activists" in almost all countries of the European Union, and in the United States, Canada, Australia, Niger and South Africa.

The report was prepared by the International Federation for Human Rights and World Organization Against Torture, under a program for monitoring the prosecution of human rights activists entitled "Observation of the Protection of Human Rights Activists," which was founded in 1997. The annual report is published in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic).

The report is drawn up using assessments of information about the prosecution of human right activists in over 70 countries around the world. This year, Ukraine was included in the report for the first time.


(2011-12-14/The Kyiv Post)