Forced exposure, interrogated about family: UN reports numerous violations of Ukrainians' rights in Russian 'filtration' camps

Ukrinform agency reports.

Kehris said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented many cases where occupying Russian forces ordered civilians to leave their homes or shelters and took them to Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory or to Russia.

Kehris 'expressed concern that the Russian Federation introduced a simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to children who were left without parental care and their adoption in the Russian Federation. In accordance with Article 54 of the Geneva Convention, it is prohibited to change the personal status of such children, including citizenship," the message says.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights noted that Russian forces subject Ukrainians living in, or moving in transit through, temporarily Russian-occupied territories to what it refers to as 'filtering': an aggressive system of security checks and personal data collection.

"This practice has led to numerous human rights violations. Our office has documented that during the filtering process, Russian Armed Forces and armed groups subjected individuals to personal searches, which sometimes include forced exposure and detailed interrogations about background, family ties, political views and passions of a particular person," Kehris said.

Kehris also said that Russians search personal belongings, including mobile devices, and collect data, photos and fingerprints.

"At the same time, people are often left without adequate access to food, water and hygiene products. Women and girls are exposed to the risk of sexual violence during such procedures. And persons suspected of belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces or state institutions, or who have proUkrainian or anti-Russian views , are subjected to torture. Cases of disappearance of people have been recorded," the report says.