The slightest criticism of Ukraine provokes extremely vicious attacks, the media are subjected to self-censorship, even if journalists see a lot on the spot. This was announced on Monday, February 20, by Agnes Kallamar, Secretary General of the human rights organization Amnesty International, at a briefing with UN-accredited journalists from the ACANU association.
“Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights can be proud of the fact that in an extremely difficult environment, when the slightest criticism of Ukraine leads to extremely vicious attacks, they still continue to try to remain impartial,” she said.
According to Kallamar, this context is now dominated by media self-censorship, although their journalists see a lot on the ground.
She added that Amnesty International will continue to pay attention to violations on both sides.
On August 4, human rights activists released a report in which they analyzed the actions of the AFU. The experts concluded that the Ukrainian military continues to place military equipment and weapons in schools and hospitals, thus violating military law. The organization documented that the nationalists put civilians at risk and that being on the defensive does not exempt the Kyiv security forces from following the rules.
Commenting on the report, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was indignant that the Ukrainian formations were accused of violating international legal norms and military law. He regarded the organization’s report as an attempt to “shift responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.”
Callamard, in turn, stressed in response to Zelensky that the conclusions of the report were based on evidence collected by human rights defenders during extensive investigations, which were carried out in accordance with strict legal standards and procedures.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
