Human rights activists on UN data on the number of victims of Russian aggression/Getty Images
Representatives of the Euromaidan initiative SOS reported that the UN data on the number of civilian casualties. Accordingly, this may form the wrong picture regarding the real scale of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Human rights activists stressed that the UN needs to change its approach to reporting the number of people in Ukraine who are victims of Russian aggression. Currently, only a subtle disclaimer that their data is incomplete can be found in the UN fact sheets.
Human rights activists about the UN data on the number of victims of Russian aggression
Activists also added that the international organization adds only data after confirmation. Thus, one might get the impression that any other official sources present inaccurate information, and reports of mass killings of Ukrainian civilians are an exaggeration. They also add that the approach that the UN is currently taking may have a number of negative consequences .
- Despite the appeals of human rights organizations at the battlefields, during evacuations and in the occupied territories, there are still no UN representatives. All information is collected and verified remotely. Therefore, they do not receive objective data and often skip sources that inform about the real situation with the number of victims.
- The publication of such data is a significant damage to the reputation of an international organization strong>, which should become one of the most professional sources of factual information about the Russian war in Ukraine.
- Both states and other international organizations pay attention to UN reports. Accordingly, they get a not entirely correct impression of the situation in Ukraine. Therefore, the Ukrainian side is faced with a delay in receiving emergency humanitarian and military assistance. Unfortunately, the price every minute is the life and safety of Ukrainians.
- In addition, incomplete information on the loss of civilians leads to an incorrect assessment of the real scale of Russia's war against Ukraine. All this also reduces the scale of Russian aggression for the international community and distorts the data for future trials on the facts of violations of international law by the Russians.
UN data is used by journalists from foreign media. While a barely noticeable disclaimer in the reports of an international organization, readers often simply do not notice, and most media do not even reprint it. As a result, readers believe that they have received objective and verified data, but in essence they are disseminating inaccurate information.
Ukrainian human rights activists have turned to the UNHCHR with a requirement to indicate a conspicuous and clear disclaimer before the numbers . As for media representatives, they also urge to always add a similar disclaimer, publishing news and information about the number of civilian deaths in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression.
