Russia Prepares Next White Book on Human Rights Violations in Ukraine

News | 18.06.2014 | 01:33

Russia’s Foreign Ministry is preparing for the release of the second White Book on humanitarian crimes in Ukraine’s east, and is calling on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN to carry out an investigation, the ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights Konstantin Dolgov said Tuesday. "We hope that all the information we collect through the ministry and non-governmental organizations will help in the course of the investigation. We do not trust that Kiev authorities will carry out an independent and unbiased investigation of [the events in] Odessa and Mariupol, and the Sniper Case is not forgotten. We need substantial participation from the OSCE, UN and European Council," Dolgov told the Federation Council. The book talks about the tragic events in Odessa, where more than 70 people died in a fire after clashes between independence supporters and nationalists, as well as an airstrike on a Luhansk administration building that killed eight, and other deadly cases of violence in the past months. "In the coming days, we will publish another White Book (on the events in April, May and the beginning of June). There are many facts, and they all need to be investigated," Dolgov said. The first volume of the book came out last month and described the most heinous human rights violations perpetrated by Kiev during the crisis in Ukraine from late November 2013 to the end of March 2014. The book has been published in Russian and English, and appeared on the Russian presidential and Foreign Ministry websites. The book was also passed to the UN, OSCE, European Council and international human rights commissioners. Since mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress the pro-independence movement. The violence intensified after the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics declared independence from Ukraine and united under the name of Novorossiya in May. Hundreds of people, including civilians have died in both regions over the past months. Moscow has described the ongoing military action as a punitive operation and called for an immediate end to the bloodshed. RIA Novosti