OHCHR: Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine (1 August – 30 November 2023)

This thirty-seventh report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the human rights situation in Ukraine covers the period from 1 August to 30 November 2023.

From 1 August to 30 November, OHCHR documented 2440 civilian casualties (576 killed and 1864 injured), with the majority (86 per cent) occurring in territory under the control of Ukraine, particularly in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The majority of civilian casualties and damage resulted from shelling and multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) attacks near the frontline.

More than 24 per cent of civilian casualties occurred far from the frontline from attacks with missiles and loitering munitions, predominantly launched by Russian armed forces. In the deadlist such attack this year, a missile launched by Russian armed forces struck a funeral reception in Hroza village, Kharkiv region, on 5 October, killing 59 civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.

Russian armed forces also targeted grain-related facilities in territory under the control of Ukraine, which are civilian objects. OHCHR has documented 31 attacks affecting grain-related facilities in territory under the control of Ukraine since 11 July. The attacks started shortly before the Russian Federation withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The attacks have caused damage and destruction to port facilities, grain silos, and grain transport vehicles.

Hostilities continued to affect the delivery of basic services, with 83 educational facilities and 20 healthcare establishments damaged or destroyed in the reporting period. As of 15 October, only 51 per cent of the 3.9 million schoolchildren in Ukraine attended in-person classes full-time, while 23 per cent attended on-line, and 25 per cent attended in a hybrid modality.

OHCHR documented the wilful killing of eleven civilians in two incidents in occupied territory that occurred during the reporting period. In both cases, there are indications that members of Russian armed forces were responsible.

In the reporting period, OHCHR documented 112 additional cases (82 men, 29 women, 1 boy) of arbitrary detention by Russian authorities which occurred before the reporting period. These cases were consistent with previous patterns of torture, including sexual violence.

In territory under the control of Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities continued to prosecute and convict individuals from areas that are or were under occupation for alleged collaboration with the occupying Power and related crimes.

Full text of the Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine (1 August – 30 November 2023)