MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klymkin has asked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to extend the mandate of the Monitoring Mission for Human Rights, which has been working in Ukraine since March 15, 2014, for the next three months, the ministry said in a statement.
“Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requesting him to extend the mandate of the Monitoring Mission for Human Rights for the next three months period,” the statement reads.
The mission’s objective is to evaluate and report on the human rights situation in the crisis-torn country, and to provide support to the Ukrainian government in the promotion and protection of human rights.
According to the United Nations, the mission covers human rights developments in the whole country, with human rights monitors based in Kyiv, Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Lviv.
In his letter, Klimkin “expressed interest in the continued presence of the UN human rights mechanisms and their support of the processes in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms in Ukraine.”
Crimea refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev, which seized power as a result of a coup in February, and rejoined Russia after a referendum that saw over 96 percent of voters in the region back the motion to leave Ukraine.
Crimea and Sevastopol, which have a special status within the region, became subjects of the Russian Federation on March 21 after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed reunification documents into law.
Several southeastern regions of Ukraine also refused to recognize the legitimacy of Ukraine’s new authorities. In mid-April, Kiev launched a special military operation in the east of the country to suppress the local independence supporters. The violent crackdown has claimed hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee from southeastern Ukraine.
